Man Out of Time
by Princepen
Summary: This is Book Two of the recently completed "Many Roads Untraveled". Picking up where we left off, Beverly Crusher has traveled into the past to a violent alien world to attempt a rescue of Captain Picard. But it soon becomes clear that when you try to change the past, complications are unavoidable.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Star Trek, but my ideas are still mine...**

**2367**

There was no Starfleet Headquarters anymore. Whatever was salvageable of Starfleet had survived only because it had been off-world during the attack. The San Francisco he had known for thirty five years now consisted of piles of rubble, the twisted frames of downed aircraft, and hundreds of fires that had yet to be extinguished. Humans and aliens alike roamed the piles of rubble looking for their missing loved ones. Sometimes they found them, but more often they did not.

Once not long ago, Picard had another life, a ship, and he remembered the people he had served with. He had no idea where any of them were at the moment. But damn him if he could remember how he had ended up in this war zone. All he knew was that it felt as though he had been sleeping under this crashed shuttle for days. He'd found an extra environmental suit in the shuttle's cargo hold along with a lone phaser. The replicator was broken and there was no food. More importantly, the pilot had tragically been killed. He'd tried to revive the poor young woman, with no success—her neck had been broken. He had carried her body to the closest security checkpoint where they were keeping track of the dead.

He'd returned to the shuttle to take shelter for the night and had remained there ever since. Early on he'd found one of the enemy's rifles. Well, actually he'd stripped it from a dead Malkatan. It was a powerful disruptor, downright excessive in its destructive capabilities. He wasn't going to complain, because it had kept him alive those first days. The Malkatans had been ruthless, first destroying the structures with some kind of graviton beam. And then as people fled, their troops appeared out of thin air and began firing on every living creature they saw. Picard had fought back, and had seen others firing at the Malkatans with phasers and any other weapons they had been able to recover. But there was no organization yet, and before they could get it together the Malkatan's disappeared from San Francisco. According to the communications array he'd repaired in the shuttle the Malkatans had attacked London next. He supposed this pattern of terror would continue.

During the day, he searched for survivors. So far he'd found just two. He'd dragged them to safety, first carrying the daughter, and then going back for the father. The man was larger than Picard, and he'd had to drag him most of the way. The man couldn't feel his legs, he knew, but he apologized to the man for his remarkably poor medical skills. The man's dire situation had made him think of Beverly; of course she'd have known what to do…but where was she? He had no idea. The makeshift medic station had taken the father and his child in, and then they'd been his responsibility no more.

At night he stayed warm by making a small fire for himself. But one night he began to feel strange, as though part of his body was somewhere else. For a moment he thought his hands disappeared in front of his eyes. But it passed, and he shook it off. He needed to keep his senses sharp. Like everyone else he was simply waiting for the Malkatans to return.

* * *

**2367 On board the Runabout**

"I just need—I just need to be alone for a while, Deanna," Beverly insisted.

"You said that two hours ago, Beverly," Troi said from the other side of the door. "It's been almost 24 hours since you returned to us from the past. Now, I can't help but sense your distress and I'm very concerned about you." Beverly remained silent. "I brought you something to eat," Troi added, hoping that would make the difference.

Presently, Deanna heard the door unlock and she moved forward and the door slid open in front of her. She smiled nervously and held out the plate of food to her friend. Beverly sat in the dark, and waved Troi to put the food down on the table.

"Thank you," she said dully, glancing away again to stare at the wall.

"Lights," Deanna said, still watching her friend. Beverly's lips moved again but no words came out, and she swiped a hand over her face distractedly.

Deanna sat down across from Beverly and leaned forward. "Who are you talking to?"

Beverly looked at her then and blinked. Her eyes appeared unfocused. "Him…I'm talking to him," she said, as if it were obvious.

"You mean, Captain Picard…what are you saying to him?"

Beverly moved the plate toward her and started picking at the food absently. Then, apparently not hungry she looked up at Troi again. "I'm telling him that I'm sorry I left him. And I am asking him to forgive me." She picked up a piece of bread with trembling fingers, and began to chew it slowly. Deanna handed her a glass of water, which she sipped gingerly.

"It's breaking my heart to see you like this. You have to take care of yourself, Beverly."

"You mean I have to take care of the baby," said Beverly. "I know that's what everyone is thinking right now. How could I be so selfish…how could I take advantage of a sick, disoriented man, who I'll never see again? A man who can never know that I'm having our child…how could I be so careless?"

Deanna frowned and shook her head. "My goodness, Beverly, of course no one is thinking all of that. We are all just worried about you…and yes, the baby, of course. What happened when you found the Captain?"

Beverly stared at her with red-rimmed eyes. "What do you _think _happened, Troi? I came back pregnant," she snapped.

Deanna flinched, and sat back, lacing her finders together between her knees. She paused. "Beverly, in addition to all of the other stressors you must be dealing with right now, it is very possible that you are experiencing the discomfort of having traveled between time periods."

Beverly glanced at her friend and took another bite of bread. "It's a very real possibility," she admitted.

Troi smiled gently. "Now if you were in my position, being a physician…what would you prescribe to make me feel better?"

Beverly sighed, beginning to appreciate her friend's patient manner. She didn't mean to be irritable. But Troi was right; she wasn't quite here in the present yet. "I would prescribe an anxiolytic—maybe give you a mild tranquilizer."

Troi smiled and nodded toward the med kit. "Do you have anything like that here with us?"

Beverly rolled her eyes and laughed slightly. "Yes, of course." She laughed again and reached out to take Deanna's hand. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. You're right—I'm obviously not myself, and suffering some after effects of time travel. Could you hand me the kit?"

Troi got up and picked up the med kit, handing it to Beverly carefully. "How are you feeling?" she asked, watching Beverly rummage around looking for the right hypo cartridge.

"I think I'm in shock…about the fact that I'm pregnant I mean," she said injecting the hypo into her neck with a hiss.

"What is the last thing you remember happening on the station?"

Beverly took in a shaky breath. "I turned my back to him and closed my eyes, waiting for the Traveler to take me, as he said he would." She looked down at the table and shook her head. "Jean-Luc was confused. He kept talking about bringing Wesley with us. Up until the moment I left I think he believed I was going to go with him on board the _Stargazer_."

"So he was coherent enough to understand that you were real."

"No, not really. He had been operating in survival mode for so long—and they had been treating him so cruelly, Deanna, that I think I was mostly still a fantasy to him. I think he was relying on images of a life with me to carry him through it all. But there was a moment," she closed her eyes tightly. "There was one moment of lucidity when he asked me if I was real. And I told him yes."

Deanna nodded slowly. "So you cannot be certain that he escaped the base."

"No. And until I know for sure…I just don't know, Deanna. I feel so horribly guilty."

Deanna got up to embrace Beverly comfortingly, when Geordi's voice came over the comm. "LaForge to Doctor Crusher…sorry to bother you, but I have an incoming pre-recorded call—it's for you."

A meaningful look passed between the two women even as they jumped up from the table and ran out into the main hold of the ship.

* * *

Worf's stern visage had never looked so compassionate. But his bruised and battered appearance also came through clear enough from the recorded message. The connection was full of static, and smoke billowed behind the Klingon in the darkness. It was clear something horrible had happened on Earth. Worf appeared to be outside.

"_Doctor, I send you greetings and hope that you and the rest of the old crew are well. I must tell you something. I have located Captain Picard. He is alive and has been fighting in the war with the rest of us few survivors. He wishes to speak with you. But I warn you…his memory is very poor. Communication stations are very scarce and in demand here, but I will arrange for him to call you within the next day. Wherever you are, you are safer staying where you are. Please do not travel to Earth. Starfleet is no more. Worf out._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

**Several hours earlier on Earth**

He coughed, waving his hand in front of his face. This area was particularly smoke-filled and very treacherous under foot. Climbing to the top of the pile of refuse, he stopped and knelt down, pulling his shirt up over his face to shield it from the smoke. He thought he could hear someone's voice calling out very faintly. He put down his rifle and lay on his belly, placing his ear to a flat piece of a former wall. The voice cried out again. Someone was alive down there.

Excited, he looked up. "Someone is alive down here!" he shouted out to whoever was listening. Pushing himself to his feet, he began to toss pieces of rubble out of the way. An older woman scrambled up beside him and began moving stones out of the way. He nodded at her. "Hold on! We're going to get you out!" he shouted, working quickly but methodically to pull pieces of debris out of the way. Gradually they came to dirt and it was clear that a Malkatan weapon had discharged here, uprooting the earth and blasting existing structures and walkways into unrecognizable pieces of junk.

"Could you hand me that pipe there?" he asked the old woman, who handed it to him carefully. He took it from her, wiping dirt from his face. "What is your name?" he asked with a breathless smile. "I'm Jean-Luc," he said, pushing the pipe at an angle into the mound of dirt.

Mary," she said returning his smile, before resuming her efforts at digging. To his extreme happiness the center of the pile was moveable, hollow. Carefully he scooped some of the dirt out, as others began to crowd around, helping him and Mary.

After a time he stood up to get his breath, and let someone else take his place. He bent down with his hands on his knees. He really needed something to eat. He could feel his energy ebbing, now that the adrenaline was leaving him. Food was scarce, but they would have to find a way.

"Captain!"

He turned and looked up into the sun, squinting at a huge shape that was running his way. Unable to grab his rifle in time, the fast moving giant grabbed him around the ribs and lifted him up into the sky. He was ready to slam his fists into the side of his attacker's head, when he realized that he recognized that very distinct head. "Worf!" The Klingon growled and squeezed him tightly again before dropping him back onto his feet.

The crowd of rescuers was pulling a young man out of the pile now. Picard slapped Worf on the shoulder as they looked on, relieved. They were both laughing now, and it occurred to him that he couldn't remember having seen Worf laugh before. But then again, he couldn't remember much.

* * *

Beverly retreated to a somewhat private corner after the phone call from Worf. He was alive. That meant he had escaped the base after all. She shut her eyes and felt grateful tears squeeze out of her eyes. "Do you hear that?" she put her hand on her abdomen. "Your daddy is alive," she whispered. Daddy. She wondered if Jean-Luc would object to the term, if he would prefer something else. Papa? Maybe something more formal, even. She sighed, not wanting to get ahead of herself. Who knows how he would feel about it at all? All she knew that was now happy. Happy about the baby and happy most of all that he was alive to share the happiness with her.

* * *

**Approximately two days later on Earth**

Picard settled down in front of the view screen anxiously. The pilot's chair he was sitting on tilted to the side unsteadily. "I finally got this thing working, and now it's going to blank out on me again, dammit!" He hit the side of the console with a thud.

"Normally I would not be the one to deter you from violence, Captain," said Worf from behind him. "But the shuttle's communications array is only one of two that are operational in the 500 meter radius. If you strike it, it may no longer work. And…there _are_ others waiting outside to use it," he reminded the Captain, nodding back out of the hatchway.

Picard glanced backward. He knew there were at least thirty people outside waiting to use the shuttle to try and contact various loved ones. And despite his innate compassion for them, he was also irritated by the constant lack of privacy now that everyone knew his communications console was working. No more hiding cleverly under his shuttle. "It's only _working_ because _I_ fixed it," he grumbled mostly to himself. "Of course, Worf, I won't take too long," he said in a louder voice. "Besides, sometimes all you have to do is give it a good tap," he said. He tapped the side of the console again for emphasis. "See?" he said crinkling his forehead as he glanced over his shoulder.

Worf shrugged looking unimpressed and placed his hands behind his back as though he was waiting for something.

Picard straightened in the wobbly chair. "Worf…I'd like a bit of privacy, please," he suggested.

Worf frowned. "Oh."

Picard spun in the seat. "Oh? Is that all you have to say? There was a time you know when you obeyed my orders without question, Mr. Worf." He realized how silly that sounded immediately and laughed. "Come now Worf, I just need to make this call," he said turning back around.

"I was going to…observe in case you make a mistake when speaking to Doctor Crusher."

He spun his chair back around slowly. Instead of creating a dramatic effect, he nearly slid off of it, given the odd angle. "Now just what kind of mistake do you think I am going to make, Worf?"

"Your memory of recent events beyond the Malkatan attack is less than perfect—in some cases, non-existent."

Picard rubbed his hands on his knees. "Granted. But you've filled me in, Worf. The events leading up to my disappearance, the changed timeline…."

Worf shifted uncomfortably. "I was not present for most of your interactions with Doctor Crusher in the months after we lost the Enterprise. There is a possibility that you may say something that she…does _not_ appreciate."

Picard stared at him for a few moments, trying to think of all those possibilities, and none of them were good. "Yes…well I suppose I will just take my chances, then," he said turning back around to face the view screen. "And thank you for the vote of confidence," he added with some sarcasm.

"Any time, Captain," said Worf seriously. "Now, I will go and provide crowd control," he said decisively, and crouched down to squeeze himself out of the shuttle's hatch.

Picard sighed and activated the console. "Work please," he murmured repeatedly until a connection was made, and a familiar face popped onto the screen. It was Geordi LaForge.

"Captain! Ha ha…you're back! So good to see you sir." The engineer's smile was radiant.

"And you too, Geordi," said Picard distractedly. "I should thank you for everything you've done. Obviously I wouldn't be here without the efforts of you and the others."

"Sir, you would have done the same for us…" Geordi glanced over his shoulder. "Hold on sir, I am going to send you into the Doctor's private terminal," he said.

* * *

The screen went blank and he felt an instant panic, that the connection had been cut. His panicked feeling turned into some kind of intense joy when he saw Beverly's face appear a second later. He could see that she had been crying, and he smiled at her, trying to reassure her from so far away. "Hello," he said simply.

"Hello," she said, returning his smile. They just stared at each other for a few more moments before he spoke again.

"Thank you, Beverly...for my life. I wish there was some other way to convey my gratitude to you. You brought me back."

She blinked. Did he remember? "How much do you remember?" she asked him quietly.

He took a deep breath. "Right now...not so much. I remember vaguely what happened the day I wrecked the Enterprise. I remember that I left Starfleet and moved to..." he broke off, with a look of pained confusion.

"Hawaii," she provided.

"Oh? What an interesting choice," he said sounding surprised. "I wonder why I moved there." he shrugged. "I suppose I don't remember too much at all."

"But Worf filled you in...right?"

"Yes."

She paused. "So you know about the Malkatans. What they did to you?"

He shook his head no. "Obviously I believe you Beverly-of course you were there-in that place in time. But no, I don't remember."

Her expression darkened and she looked away from the screen.

He leaned forward. "I'm sorry, Beverly. It's just that the first memory I have of a Malkatan is one here on Earth rushing toward me, trying to kill me." He frowned. "But I killed him...which is why I'm here talking to you right now. They are ruthless you know-"

"Yes, I know," she said. "Because I saw how they brutalized you in the past, Jean-Luc." He gazed at her and there was sympathy in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that you had to witness any of that Beverly," he said.

She shook her head. "Never mind. When can I see you?" she asked, sitting forward. "I need to talk to you, Jean-Luc."

He smiled. "Well that's why I worked on this damn comm. unit for so long-to talk to you Beverly. It was all I could think of. But...rumor is the Malkatans are headed back here again. They don't like survivors, Beverly. I think they plan to wipe us out."

Her breath caught in her throat and she sat back, clasping a hand over her mouth, feeling a sudden bout of nausea come over her.

Dammit he'd said the wrong thing, just as Worf had warned him he might. She looked positively ill. He stood up and reached toward the screen uselessly. "I'm so sorry, Beverly. Don't worry too much. All we need is some organization here, and I am sure we will make some headway against the Malkatans. Besides, Worf said that there might be a way to fight them, and that Riker is on his way to rendezvous with your ship to pick up some kind of-of-"

"Neutralizer," she offered, feeling cold inside. She might never see him in person again. She had to tell him.

He sat back down slowly, seeing the serious look on her face. "What is it, Beverly?"

"Jean-Luc...I'm pregnant," she said, trying to muster all of her strength.

His mouth opened slightly, and his eyes blinked several times quickly. He put a hand on the back of his neck, obviously shocked. "Oh."

She felt the tears coming again, but told herself not to fall apart. She straightened in her seat. "And it's our child. Yours and mine, Jean-Luc."

He stood up again, taking a deep breath, and walked away from the screen. Almost immediately, he reappeared, sitting down looking completely confused. And he was. He lifted his open palms as if to reason with her. "Beverly, we haven't...I mean, I've never even-"

She pursed her lips and wiped her eyes. "I know how it works, Jean-Luc. And yes you have. We were together in the past."

His face was a mix of intense emotions. "You mean you were with my past self. Not me," he said pointing to his chest for clarification.

"It was you though," she said. "It was you in the past."

He laughed. "My past self could barely conceive of something to say to you, much less conceive..." he trailed off, dismayed at yet another poor choice of words on his part. Her face conveyed a certain intensity he had never seen before. And she was certainly not laughing. He leaned forward intensely. "Beverly I must see you as soon as possible, then. You and the baby."

She felt her heart flood with joy all of a sudden, because she knew he had made his choice. She knew he wouldn't walk away from her. "Worf said it's not safe to travel to Earth."

"It's not," he admitted. "But maybe Worf and I can get off-world somehow." His head snapped around as though there was some kind of commotion going on behind him. When he turned back to face her his face was etched with worry. "Before I go, there was something I had to tell you. Maybe you know how I can treat it." He licked his lips quickly. "It appears to be some kind of medical condition I've developed, Beverly. It's-sometimes I feel like I am somewhere else. And I feel this discomfort spread throughout my body. At first I ignored, it, but then I actually believe I saw my hands and feet disappear. It was very frightening." He clutched his hands together and stared into the screen. "Am I losing my mind, Beverly?"

She stared at him, suddenly overcome with dread. "No," was all she was able to get out. What did it mean? She had saved him in the past, but...something still wasn't right. She could sense it. She placed her hand on her abdomen again and tried to look into his eyes as best she could through a view screen. He smiled at her in their shared silence. Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound coming from his end. He spun around in his chair, and fell to the floor.

She stood up quickly. "Jean-Luc!"

He stumbled and gripped the chair, looking back at her anxiously. "It was an explosion," he said. Just then she saw Worf pulling himself through a mangled hatchway.

"Captain...the Malkatans have returned."

Picard turned back to say something to Beverly, but the connection went black on her end before he could get the words out.

* * *

**Hello, thanks for your interest in this story. Hopefully some of your questions will be answered as it moves along. Thanks for reading and reviewing!-PP**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

**2367 South Pacific Ocean, Earth **

As the spinning Singularity Ring continued skimming over the expanse of the grey-blue ocean, the Malkatan navigator announced something new. "Sensors show there are creatures in this part of the world living underneath the water. Shall I deploy plasma charges and destroy them?"

General Unh limped forward to look at the sensor diagram. "No, they are a potential food source. Leave them alone for now."

"We are approaching another body of land in two trams, General," said the navigator.

"Prepare the graviton weapon," General Unh ordered and then leaned on the central tactical station table. A large map of the Earth glowed beneath his gaze. He pointed to various points on the map as his second in command joined him. "These cities have already been conquered, Razul. While the Humans are weak and still in the process of re-grouping we must return and wipe them out. They will not expect it, and we must be merciless if we are to prepare the way for the rest of our people. And the Humans must not interfere with our relocation efforts."

"I will notify the other units," said Major Razul. He looked at the General, and was disturbed to see that his commanding officer was clutching at his neck suddenly. "General!"

General Unh dropped to his knees, clutching at some invisible force that was cutting off his airway. Razul stared wide-eyed as the General's stumpy legs began to fade and then re-appeared again before Razul's squinty eyes. He choked, and slapped at his throat desperately. Razul bent down to hear better what the General was trying to say, but made no move to help him. The General took in a shuddering breath. "Pi…card!"

* * *

**2367 San Francisco **

"Humans!" A voice speaking through some kind of amplification device boomed through the air. There was some delay as the Malkatan's words were translated through the same device. Picard and Worf slipped out through the hatch of the shuttle as quietly as possible. Dropping down into the dirt, they crouched underneath the overturned craft and peered out from behind cover. Worf powered up his phaser and Picard carefully pulled the Malkatan rifle from over his shoulder, laying it down in front of him.

"Humans of Earth will gather around me," the voice ordered again. The crowd of people who had been waiting for the communications console, shrank back, and Picard could now see the Malkatan in the center of the crowd. He must have used his singularity vessel to travel here. They had already learned that the mode of travel was nearly instantaneous, so there was no telling where he had transported from. "Your immediate deaths have been ordered by the Grand General Unh, the Supreme Ruler of Malkata, and the new Chancellor of Earth," said the Malkatan.

Picard rolled to his side and tucked the butt of the rifle underneath his armpit. He nodded to Worf.

"You may kneel, or you may stand," threatened the Malkatan. "But either way your lives will end, to make way for the flood of Malkatans who will take your place as the keepers of this planet." He activated a device he held in his palm, the center of which began to spin in a fist sized black orb of energy. "Prepare for your afterlife," shouted the Malkatan.

"Shoot for the device on stun, and I'll take my chances with hitting him," Picard murmured. "He's fat, and you have better aim than I do…."

"I know," said Worf.

The Malkatan held up the singularity device over his head. "Who will be the first—" The weapons discharged almost at once, and the singularity device shot out of the Malkatan's hand just as the plasma projectile burst through his chest. Staring into the sky in silent shock, he dropped to the ground instantly lifeless.

Picard scrambled forward on all fours. "Don't touch it!" he shouted into the frantic crowd, as the Malkatan's weapon continued to roll through the dirt for a few more seconds before it apparently deactivated itself. Worf bent down and grabbed the singularity device and picked it up.

Picard looked around. "It's high time we all started working together," he called out. "Now let's split into groups and search for something to eat. We'll meet back here in 20 minutes."

"Who are you to give us orders? What if they come back here?" a young man challenged.

"The Malkatans are arrogant," said Worf. "They have confidence in their singularity weapons and only sent one executioner. Most likely they will not send reinforcements until they realize he is dead."

"I'm not going to scrounge around for food in the trash while they come back here and hunt us down," the man shouted.

Picard slung the rifle back over his shoulder. "Suit yourself, I'm hungry," he said, turning to walk away. Worf was not at all surprised to find that nearly the entire crowd followed behind him.

* * *

**2367 On Board the Runabout Somewhere near Maxia**

Beverly stretched her arms up over her head, and then put her feet up on the couch, leaning her elbow on the table next to her. She was tired, but didn't want to sleep. After a call to Jean-Luc, and then the way that had ended…with an explosion outside of his shuttle; she had no idea how her nerves would ever settle down again. "Deanna...do you think that this condition he is talking about is similar to what was happening to him before he disappeared in Hawaii that day?"

"It is possible Beverly, but if that is the case, wouldn't that mean that he was again phasing back to another time, or in between time periods? And why would he have returned to us if something went wrong after you left him on the base?"

"Well…you said yourself that you checked the data banks again this morning, and the computer still believes he disappeared in 2355," said Beverly.

"Yes but...the time shift last time wasn't immediate. Perhaps it takes time for recorded history to readjust to the new events," Troi suggested hopefully.

"But let's just say that something is still off-something I did perhaps in the past-"

"Beverly! _Why_ does it have to be something that _you_ did? You are being much too hard on yourself," Troi scolded her gently. "Now I want you to remember that you are not the one who caused this horrible situation-Bok did this."

She stared at an invisible point over Deanna's shoulder as if she didn't quite hear her friend. "If the same thing is happening to him that happened before…why didn't he _tell _me?"

Deanna sighed, reluctant to go down this road, and upset her friend further, but she had to admit there was some validity to Beverly's concerns. "Assuming for the sake of argument that you are right and the timeline has yet to be corrected, perhaps the effect is not as strong as it was. And you said the Captain doesn't remember his capture by the Malkatans in the past. If he was experiencing the trauma of those events while still trying to exist in our time, he must have been quite literally tortured and confused. And…perhaps the invasion of Earth, along with the sudden realization of fatherhood has changed him already. It is natural that he would want to share really everything with you at this point, with the stakes being so high. Although I am unable to sense his emotions from so far away, I know that he desperately wants to stay alive to reunite with you."

Beverly rubbed her weary eyes. "I'm worried about him," she said simply.

Deanna tapped her fingertips on the table lightly. "I know." She brightened a bit. "At least he and Worf are together."

Beverly nodded, but didn't say anything. They both looked up as Wesley walked toward the small lounge area. He twisted his hands together in front of him, as though conflicted, before approaching.

"Um...how are you, Mom?" Wesley put his hand on his mother's shoulder before sitting down next to her.

"Alright, Wes. And how are you?"

He looked down at his hands.

Deanna started to get up from her seat. "I should go," she said.

"No, it's alright," Wesley said quickly. "You don't have to leave, Counselor."

Beverly leaned back against the small couch, still watching her son.

"I know I should probably feel weird about the baby and everything," said Wesley after a moment. "But I don't. I'm really glad...as long as it's what you want Mom," he said, looking up at her.

She nodded. "It is," she said, offering him a small smile.

"How did-how did the Captain take it, when you told him Mom?"

"He was shocked...under the circumstances I couldn't blame him. But then he let me know-in his own way, that he was happy."

Wesley raised his eyebrows. "Even though…I mean you know how he is about kids."

Beverly smiled slowly. "Wes, his feelings about children probably come mostly from inexperience. And I believe he had some issues with his own father while growing up. We're all formed by our relationships with our parents, whether they are present in our lives or not. I know I was; and so were you," she said taking his hand in hers.

He shrugged but then nodded. "I know it sounds strange," he said slowly, "but maybe this was meant to happen this way."

"You mean the baby?"

He nodded.

"I don't know, Wes," she said softly. "It's hard for me to feel that way when Jean-Luc is so far away and I have no way of knowing if he's alright."

"Then…are we going back to Earth to join the fight?" Wesley seemed almost hopeful in a way that concerned her.

"I don't know Wesley...as much as I want to fly back to Earth, I think it's best if we wait for Commander Riker and the _Aldrin_ to arrive, and then decide from there."

Wesley looked disappointed, but nodded. "Okay," he said, getting up from his seat. "I'm going to help Data with the replicated neutralizer. We're still trying to break down its main functions, so we can figure out how to use it against the Malkatans."

Beverly nodded and continued to watch her son as he walked away.

* * *

She could tell that Deanna was about to say something, when almost as soon as Wesley left, Geordi entered.

He hesitated in the doorway. "Uh…."

Beverly laughed and waved him in. He was holding a cup in his hands, and he walked with careful concentration so as not to spill it. Stopping abruptly, he held it out to her with an oddly nervous grin.

Beverly reached up tentatively to take the steaming cup from Geordi's outstretched hands. "My mother used to make this for my Aunt Lizzy when she was pregnant," he said. "I was young at the time, but she showed me how," he said. "Only thing is, I'm not so sure the replicator had all the right ingredients. And, um, I'm also not sure what exactly it's supposed to help you with..."

Beverly sniffed in the aroma and smiled up at him. "Thank you, Geordi, it smells lovely. Actually it reminds me of something my grandmother taught me to make...a long time ago."

"Well good," he said awkwardly. He wiped his hands on his pants and backed up. "Okay, bye," he said before exiting the room.

Beverly and Deanna shared a look before they both broke into laughter, only to be interrupted by the appearance of Data. They turned to look at him in surprise.

"Data?" Beverly watched as the android walked with swift efficiency to the table and sat down across from the two women.

"Doctor…after your return from the Malkatan base, I noticed something concerning about your medical readings."

Beverly crossed her arms over her chest and glanced at Troi who looked just as puzzled. "Oh?"

Data nodded. "Yes. Upon learning of your sudden pregnancy, I attempted to calculate the fetal age of the embryo, by approximating the time of fertilization, and implantation. Given the limited approximately five hour period you were with Captain Picard on the base, I was able to estimate as close as possible the time of conception. And based on the finite number of opportunities for copulation—"

"Data!" Deanna shouted.

Beverly dropped her face into the palm of her hand briefly. "Honestly, Data…."

Data tilted his head and looked from one woman to the other. "I am being honest, Doctor, in fact—"

"Data," said Beverly, closing her eyes. "I _know_. I am a doctor after all."

Deanna frowned. "Know what?"

"And you are not concerned?" Data asked.

"Concerned about _what_?" Deanna demanded, now sounding concerned herself.

Beverly took a deep breath in. "My baby…the pregnancy is somewhat accelerated." Deanna stared at her in shocked silence. "I'm two weeks further along than I should be," she admitted. "I don't know why," she said. "I can only assume it's because of the time shifting. I came twelve years back and then forward in time within five hours. That's a lot of traveling."

"But…."

"But the baby's fine," Beverly reassured Troi. "Perfectly healthy."

* * *

**2355 Malkatan Base**

"Come on, Jean-Luc," he said out loud to himself over and over. "You can do it." His hands fumbled clumsily with the hypos. He shut the med kit. _She's gone_, he told himself. _But I have proof in my hands that she was here,_ he thought. He shook his head, trying to clear his muddy thoughts. _Go_.

He grabbed a pistol from the hip of one of the unconscious guards and slipped out into the hallway without looking back. What he was leaving was captivity…torture. Where he was headed was to freedom. She had told him she would be waiting for him, and he believed her. She had never, ever lied to him. In fact, she was the only thing that was true to him anymore.

She had left him the tiny map of the base on a very advanced looking tricorder. Probably a new medical version. He jogged in the direction of the immense room, which according to the map held his crew. Some of the controls on the tricorder puzzled him, but he found the room. Swiping a guard's key, he opened the door and stepped in.

The room was freezing—literally. He was dizzy immediately, because even the cold did not mask the smell. He stared around the room as if in a nightmare. He gagged and knelt down to get a closer look. Averting his eyes he felt for a pulse. Nothing. Standing up again he walked slowly through the maze of bodies. Most had holes in their skulls or chests where they had been shot. His crew. He recognized them all.

He stopped in the center of the room. All of his people, dead. _Oh,_ _Beverly, they murdered my crew._ He bent over retching again, and fought as a wave of dizziness rolled over him.

* * *

Gripping the pistol, he ran from the room and raced down the hall, now working from the memory of having been dragged down it by his arms just days before. The door to the room he was looking for was already open.

General Unh lay on the floor, unconscious. Picard pulled out the hypo and put it to the Malkatan's neck. "Wake up," shouted Picard. "Wake up!" Slowly the Malkatan opened his narrow eyes, and looked at Picard. His eyes widened just slightly before Picard wrapped his hands around the General's neck, squeezing with all of his might. The alien began to choke and wheeze, pounding Picard with his powerful arms, but Picard just gripped him harder.

Sweat poured over his forehead from the effort, and he let go with one hand to wipe his eyes. That was when he saw them, curled up on the floor, bound with restraints. They were the last two members of his crew; Zev and Vigo. He looked down at the Malkatan in his grip and decided then that he had to let go for his crew. They were only three, but they still deserved to escape. He staggered to his feet, breathing heavily. They would take the _Stargazer_, find reinforcements, come back and destroy this base. Yes, he would outlast the Malkatans.

* * *

**Hello, thanks for your reviews and for reading this story. Hope you all have a good week. -PP**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

**2367 The Runabout**

"I know that something isn't quite right," said Wesley, as he lay down on his bunk, once it appeared that he was alone. But he hoped that someone in particular did hear his words. "We didn't go about saving the Captain in the right way…." He turned his head back and forth in the darkness. "Why won't you tell me?" he whispered.

"Because I do not know the right way, Wesley," floated the Traveler's voice. "It is going to be up to you and your friends to make things right. I am sorry. If you determine that you must enter the past again, please contact me then."

Wesley sat up quickly and sat on the edge of his narrow bunk. He looked around in the darkness, but the Traveler was nowhere to be found.

* * *

**2355 Malkatan Base**

"Captain..." Zev gripped his arm tightly as the hypo began to take effect, waking her up. Slowly her dark eyes focused in on his face. "Captain, they told us you were dead."

He clenched his jaw and grabbed her hand in his own. He glanced at General Unh, lying unconscious on the floor. He had wanted to kill the General, but had injected him with a sedative from Beverly's med kit instead. "They lied," he said, turning back to Zev. "But the rest of the crew..."

"The others are dead, Captain," she said, getting to her feet with their help. "Vigo witnessed it," she said, nodding at the still unconscious tactical officer. "The General made him watch as they slaughtered our people. All of them."

"I know. I found them...all together in a room. I'm so sorry, Zev..."

"It doesn't look as though you were spared any suffering yourself Captain," she said looking him over. "It seems they tortured us all, didn't they?" She struggled to her feet with his help. He could see that one of her sensitive antennae had been severed or damaged so much by her captors that it had fallen off.

He tried to keep his anger at their situation under control. "We were all so disoriented for days," she continued, still dazed. "They tortured us and because our minds were so jumbled from the Singularity Net that we couldn't fight back," she said. "We saw things…some people went mad. I thought I saw my wife and children. Vigo saw his dead son. Did you have these visions as well, Captain?"

Visions. He backed away from her slowly. Beverly's arrival had reminded him that there was a world outside to return to. She had given him hope. He didn't quite understand how she had arrived on the base, or how much of what had happened between them had truly been real; but she had told him _she_ was real, and he knew that she had never lied to him. But he also knew that he had to keep this to himself. Zev and Vigo didn't need to know all of the details, and they might think he was crazy, if he told them about Beverly. So he chose not to answer her question for now.

"It's not over yet, Zev. We're going to get out of here. And then the Malkatans will pay for what they have done."

His first officer nodded. "I believe you, sir. But Vigo-they broke down his mind, Captain."

"Nonsense," Picard said with a stubbornness inspired by his fear that Zev might be right. "I'm sure he's fine. He's always been one of my best officers. He'll make it out with us." Vigo had to be alright if they were to escape.

"Sir, I am warning you," continued Zev. "He hates you now. The Malkatans told Vigo you were the reason they killed the rest of the crew. General Unh told Vigo that you refused to give them the weapons' security codes, even when Unh threatened to kill us all."

"No...no, that's not true."

"I told him that sir, but..."

Picard turned to look over at Vigo. The man's olive green skin was now gaunt and pale. He wondered if he had appeared just as sickly to Beverly when she had first seen him. He put the thoughts out of his mind and walked toward Vigo.

Holding his breath, he leaned in and held the hypo to Vigo's throat. His eyelids fluttered open, and after seeming to recognize the Captain the man let out a shriek, and thrust his palm up into Picard's chin, slamming his jaw shut violently and sending him reeling backwards. Vigo scrambled up into a chair and looked at Picard with a mix of fear and rage.

Picard shook his head and staggered back to Vigo. "Vigo—it's me!" He grabbed the man's shoulders almost desperate to get through to him, but Vigo reached up and scratched his face with his fingernails.

"Aaa!" Picard fell backwards onto the floor clutching his bleeding face.

Commander Zev rushed to Vigo. "Vigo, no! It's Captain Picard. He's alive and he didn't betray us. He's come back to us, and we are going to escape together."

Vigo's breathing slowly calmed down and he looked from Zev to Picard and back again.

"Vigo," Zev said more softly. "We have a chance to leave now. The Malkatans are disabled, but only for a few hours more. Where is the Ferengi shuttle you said you saw when they took you to another part of the base?"

"It—it was in a hangar bay. I think I can find it again," he stammered still looking at Picard suspiciously. Picard wiped his bloody face with his sleeve, but said nothing.

"Good," said Zev. "Captain, once we get to the Stargazer, how do you know we'll be able to free ourselves? The Singularity net is very powerful."

"I have—I found this," he said, holding up the neutralizer Beverly had given him. "It will neutralize the hold the graviton field has on the ship, and we can get out of here."

Vigo's eyes narrowed. "How did you find that? What did you do to all of these Malkatans? Where did he get a med kit? I don't trust him," he shouted at Zev.

Picard suddenly slammed his hand down on a nearby table. "Enough of this! Do you want to interrogate me, or do you want to survive? If you want to _live_, Vigo then you had better start trusting me," he shouted. "Now come on," he urged both of them, gathering up the tools Beverly had given him. "Let's go."

* * *

**_2367 _The**_** USS Aldrin **_**several days after the attack on Earth**

In the space of the several days since he had spoken with Deanna Troi, things had changed drastically for Riker and the rest of Starfleet's ship captains. Repairs to the _Aldrin_ were almost complete following a surprise attack on the ship while at New Brazil. Now, the _Aldrin_ was one of ten starships to be recalled to Earth to serve in a defensive capacity against the Malkatan invasion, while the remaining ships continued patrolling the rest of the Federation.

Starfleet had been caught unaware, or at least had not been adequately prepared; and consequently it had suffered massive casualties both on Earth and throughout Federation territory. Starfleet Command was non-existent, and the chain of command scrambled to reorganize itself. Communication between Earth and the starships was erratic at best. There were still admirals off Earth posted in star bases, and a few on diplomatic starships, but widespread communications problems left the Fleet largely in disarray.

The Malkatans, as the crew of the _Aldrin_ had learned first-hand, seemed to have technology which allowed them to be in more than one place at once. Following their initial attacks on Federation colonies, the Malkatans had been luring ships to various locations and ambushing them by using a devastating graviton weapon. The _Aldrin_ had been no exception, as they had been attacked without provocation while investigating the massacre on the New Brazil colony.

When he had last spoken to Deanna, Beverly hadn't yet traveled into the past, the Earth hadn't yet been invaded, and he hadn't yet been under orders to return to Earth. So Riker had to re-think his plans to rendezvous with the runabout to obtain the neutralizer technology from Data and Geordi. Was it still the right thing to do? Eventually, he resolved that yes, it was; which meant that he had to disobey the order to return to Earth.

And so he had called a meeting right there on the bridge. A few minutes into it, he began to regret that he hadn't worked on a few of them individually first. They stared at him with collectively shocked and confused expressions.

Commander Obi was the first to speak. "Captain you have to admit that what you're saying sounds…."

"Crazy?" Riker who had been pacing the middle of the_ Aldrin's_ bridge, stopped and glanced back at his First Officer, who stood very still in the command center.

"Sir," said Patrick Obi, putting out his hands anxiously. "I wouldn't go that far…but, well Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a legend to all of us. But he's been dead for years. For you to say that you knew him, and served under him, well, sir it's hard to believe."

Riker looked at the man squarely. "But it's the truth," said Riker. "He hasn't been dead for years. And I do know him. In the real timeline—the one we're all supposed to be living in-I knew him better than I know my own father, until he disappeared just a few weeks ago. And now we know that there is no coincidence that his disappearance happened just days before the first Malkatan attacks."

Doctor Mayer leaned on one of the science stations. Her facial expression and tone were questioning. "Let's say we believe you—that the default time period is one in which Captain Picard exists in the present day. I still do not see the link between Captain Picard's disappearance and the Malkatans," said Doctor Mayer.

"That is what I have been trying to explain…" said Riker. "Now I don't have all of the details, but the Malkatans are here now primarily because the Ferengi introduced our technology to the Malkatans along with a powerful alien graviton trap in 2355. If the Ferengi hadn't messed with time, we wouldn't be in this situation now."

"The same year Captain Picard disappeared," said Lieutenant Commander Meeta.

Riker nodded. "Yes, but in the correct time line he didn't disappear in 2355. Daimon Bok wanted revenge for the death of his son, which in the correct timeline was the result of his son attacking the Stargazer in 2355, and the Stargazer prevailing in battle. Bok blamed Captain Picard, and a few years ago he tried to ruin the Captain over it. This is just another more elaborate attempt to not only humiliate the Captain, but to erase him both from the present, and from recent recorded history."

"As you know Admiral Richardson has ordered us to return to Earth to provide defense against the Malkatan attacks," said Riker. "But we're not going. At least not yet."

The Bridge was silent. "We need something that Commander Data has—something the Ferengi gave him which could turn the tide in this war," he added.

"What is it?" asked Lieutenant Kashirin. "A weapon?"

Riker shook his head. "It has the potential technology to dampen the effect of the graviton weapons the Malkatans are using against us."

"Like the one that pulled us almost clear through that planet," said Obi. "If we have access to this technology, I agree, it could make the difference."

"But we would be disobeying orders," said Kashirin.

"It's my order to disobey," said Riker. "I'm happy to take the blame. But I need your cooperation, and your trust."

Just then Doctor Mayer strolled over to stand next to him, gaining the crew's attention. "I have another theory," she declared. "Giving Captain Riker the benefit of the doubt that he has not lost his mind—and he believes what he is saying—you all have to admit that he is the only one of us who has experienced what he keeps calling the 'correct' timeline. But what if in the correct timeline, Captain Picard is dead, and is _supposed_ to be dead? Who are you to say whether this is the correct time or not? When this is all the rest of us have ever known?" she said staring Riker down.

"I am asking my crew to trust me," he said tightly. "If you don't, believe me I can live with that," he said.

"But what about you?" she asked the crew, spanning the bridge with her cool gaze. "Do you want to take the chance that if you help your captain, you might disappear? What if I never existed in what Riker refers to as the correct timeline? Think about yourselves!"

Riker turned his back to Dr. Mayer. "I will admit that Doctor Mayer makes a persuasive argument. But I'm only asking you to help me to fight the Malkatans in this time period —whatever the hell time we happen to be living in right now —I know we all want to protect it. Now who is with me?" Riker looked around at his crew. No one moved for what seemed like an eternity to Riker. Doctor Mayer smiled as she stood beside him.

Commander Obi stepped forward finally. "I am sir."

"I am as well," Meeta said, raising her hand.

"Count me in too, sir," said Kashirin from tactical.

Doctor Mayer stepped away from Riker with controlled anger, and then swiftly exited the bridge.

* * *

**The Planet Ferenginar**

"Kad, you useless spawn of a gree-worm, how dare you show your ugly face to me? Why are you calling me?" Bok's contorted, angry face sneered from the view screen.

"Brom has betrayed you, Daimon," said Kad smoothly.

"So have you," Bok shouted at his former subordinate. "And I am guessing that he paid you just as handsomely as I did when I contracted with you to ensure that Jean-Luc Picard died in the hands of the Malkatans. But you failed at that, just as you fail at everything."

"Blame me all you want, Bok, but you were sloppy. You believed that because Picard disappeared from our time that he would die on Malkata at some point in the past. And you may have been right. But something has else happened to change the past. There has been a new intervention—facilitated by your son, Brom. Picard has escaped!"

Bok stood up and threw a series of objects at the wall, wishing that Kad was there in person to take the hits directly. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I am willing to give you the information you need to travel back in time to kill him yourself. It is the only way to make certain that your vengeance has succeeded."

"Name your price," Bok demanded.

"All you have to do is disown Brom and transfer all of his property to me," said Kad.

"How can I be certain that you are not tricking me?"

Kad smiled. "Picard's female knows all about it. Why don't you question her? She and her crew are at Maxia. And then I strongly recommend that you kill her as well, to cease her interference."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**2367 Earth**

Picard pulled himself up and into the shuttle. "Here," he said, holding out a backpack with one hand, and munching on an apple with the other. "I brought some food."

"Thank you," said Worf, without turning from his seat at the communications terminal.

Picard crouched down, and rifled through the bag looking for something suitable for a Klingon. He turned on his handheld lantern and placed it on the floor, as it was now growing dark outside. Thankfully it was still late June, and so they had the sunlight in their favor until late evening.

He'd grabbed some fruit, some bread, cheese and water from the recent food gathering expedition and stuffed it into his backpack. Just twenty minutes after the food search parties had set out, three civilians, including Mary, the woman who had helped him rescue a man a few days ago, had found the underground remains of the Starfleet Medical cafeteria.

There were still back-up plasma generators powering some areas of the partially caved in room, and then the women had been ecstatic to find a replicator, but found out soon afterward to their dismay that it wasn't working. The computer network that had connected the building and all of its components had been destroyed along with the majority of the building, and the replicators were no longer functioning as a result.

But in the kitchen the women found several refrigerators with substantial amounts of food in them, as well as a walk-in freezer and boxes of dried goods. It was more than enough to give them hope, and they had packed bags full of food and brought it back to the site of Picard's shuttle to share with the group. It was agreed that the next day another group would travel out to secure the area around their new source of food, to keep it protected.

The Malkatan's body had been dragged away and buried, after much argument about what to do. It was a given that the Malkatans would return eventually. Later on and almost as if in challenge to the Malkatans, and against the strongly urged advice of Picard, a huge bonfire was started. The group of roughly one hundred people laughed, ate, and danced, almost giddy from the joy of having full bellies for the first time in days. The more noise they made the more people seemed to show up, until Picard quite literally stopped counting.

He watched from a distance, finding he was having a difficult time celebrating such a small victory. He also wondered how long it would take for the Malkatans to return now that a bonfire was effectively announcing that Humans were still alive down here in the ruins of San Francisco. After staring up into the night sky awed as usual by its beauty, his thoughts naturally turned to Beverly and his unborn child, and eventually he walked away from the group.

Now that he was back inside the shuttle the silence was almost welcoming.

"Still nothing?" he asked Worf.

Worf's big shoulders slumped and he finally turned around.

"Nothing," he confirmed. "All communications with Moscow are still down."

Picard nodded and sat down on the floor cross legged. "I'm very sorry to hear that Worf," he said, looking up after a moment. "But there still might be a chance to locate Alexander and your parents. We have to keep trying," he said.

He hadn't said anything to Worf about his own inability to reach his brother Robert and his family in Labarre. Without a means of transport they couldn't find the people they loved on Earth much less escape the planet. "We need a working shuttle, Worf," he said distantly before biting into his apple again. He held the bag up again for Worf to take and then tossed it at him.

Worf caught the bag of food and began sifting through it. Momentarily he stopped abruptly and looked up. "I forgot to go to Data's house," he said, looking as though he wished he hadn't remembered.

Picard frowned, chewing on some kind of biscuit. "Why? I mean why do you have to go there?"

"When I last contacted the runabout, Data asked me to look for his cat..."

Picard raised his eyebrows. "Yes, of course...but I would have thought he would have brought along—um-" he hesitated unsure of the cat's name.

"Spot," said Worf grumpily. "I believe he misjudged how long he would be away from Earth. And of course he did not expect the Malkatans to attack. But now it has been days…I would be surprised if the animal is even alive," he added darkly.

Picard shook his head. "Oh, I don't know...cats are highly resourceful-or so I've heard."

"I will go there tomorrow morning," said Worf, then he fell  
silent as they resumed eating.

"See if you can use your communicator to call me here in the shuttle," suggested Picard. "It's worth a try." Worf nodded and took a big drink of water.

"Captain," Worf said after a time.

Picard glanced up from his seat on the floor. He had been deep in thought. "Hmm?"

"You mentioned a shuttle. Do you think we will be able to repair this one?"

Picard shrugged. "We'd need a new propulsion system. The Malkatans shot this one right out of the air with a direct hit to the nacelles. There might be other ships around that are less damaged. And I intend on searching for one tomorrow," he added, lying down on his back with his jacket as a pillow.

"May I ask what you intend to do once you have a shuttle, Captain?"

Picard was silent for a few more moments. "I have an idea, Worf, but I want to get this shuttle up and working first, before I elaborate further."

"Do you intend on leaving the planet?"

Picard sighed. "I'm very conflicted…part of me wants to stay and fight the Malkatans. But I learned something recently, Worf, something that makes me desperate to get off this planet. Of course, you are welcome to come with me. But whatever happens, Worf, I want to help you find your son first."

"Thank you, sir" Worf said, sounding grateful. "And we should try and find your family as well…your family in France." Unceremoniously Worf dropped down and stretched out on the floor. He grumbled something in Klingon, which Picard understood to be some kind of complaint about the lack of space inside the shuttle.

Picard turned off the lantern. He didn't want to think too much about his family home because he feared the worst. "Let's get our transportation situation figured out first," he said quietly. He stared into the darkness for a few minutes before sitting up suddenly. "Worf?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Could I ask you a personal question?"

Worf was surprised. The Captain rarely spoke of personal matters. "Yes."

"When you found out about Alexander; that you had a son…what was your first reaction?"

"I was…shocked, perhaps I was also angry. I did not know that K'Ehleyr had been pregnant, and I did not know why she kept the child a secret from me. But, once I came to understand her motivations… and overcame some of my own insecurities, afterwards I was very proud."

"I see," Picard said quietly, wrapping his arms around his knees.

"Of course," said Worf, "I still did not feel capable of taking care of the boy—which is why he is here on Earth with my parents," he said beginning to sound guilty. Picard regretted dredging up a subject which was still obviously very difficult for Worf. The Klingon fell silent for a few more moments before asking, "May I ask why you are inquiring sir?"

Picard took a deep breath. "I recently learned that I am to be a father," he said.

"MajQa (well done)!" exclaimed Worf, propping himself up on his elbow.

Picard smiled. "Thank you, Worf."

Worf stared at him with an intensity he could feel even in the darkness. "You just learned that you have a child?"

"Doctor Crusher…Beverly is pregnant. She just told me."

He could register Worf's confusion. "Is she well?"

"Yes, she seems to be fine. But I want to see her as soon as possible. In fact I feel compelled to see her."

"Of course," Worf agreed. "But I—I suppose that I did not realize that you and she…." He suddenly slapped his palms together loudly.

Despite his embarrassment, Picard laughed amused by Worf's straightforward representation of sex, but then sobered quickly. "We didn't. But…as you know, she traveled into the past. And it seems that my past self, the Picard of 2355 is the father."

"That means that _you_ are the father, sir."

"Does it? I mean of course genetically he and I are identical. But are we the same person?"

"Of course. He is you, as you were in the past."

"But why would she—I mean I have been trying to think about how it must have happened, and I—"

"Sir," said Worf. "It is best that you do not think about her encounter with your past self. It is not as important as the honor which she has now bestowed on you."

"Honor?"

"Yes. She has chosen you to be the child's father. She did not have to tell you. She did not even have to keep the child, and you would never have known. Instead, she told you. She has selected you as her mate."

"Well when you put it that way, it really sounds quite wonderful," admitted Picard.

"Yes."

Picard lay back down and sighed. "Any luck reaching the runabout again?"

"No…I am sorry, Captain."

He grunted and shifted, turning over on his side. "It's alright, I'll try again tomorrow."

* * *

**The next morning…**

It was unusually hot inside the shuttle that morning. He blinked sweat out of his eyes, as he fiddled with the wiring underneath the communications panel. He wished Geordi was here to guide him through it, but out of necessity he had become quite adept at learning the ins and outs of the hardware in this shuttle. Suddenly the panel beeped, indicating long range capacity was active once more. Almost immediately he heard another chirp as a call came in and he nearly bumped his head, pulling himself up and into the seat. His excitement ebbed somewhat when he heard Worf's voice on the other end. But at least he had been able to connect to the shuttle.

"Worf to Picard…come in sir."

"Picard here. Go ahead."

"Sir, I am at Data's house. I found Spot…and something else sir."

"Well? Don't keep me in suspense, my friend."

"Before he left Earth, Geordi built a hover bike with an extremely powerful engine. He left the bike at Data's house and it is still intact, despite the attack."

Picard broke into a smile. "You think we can replace the shuttle's propulsion system with Geordi's homemade engine?"

"It is possible."

"Good, I'll keep trying to reach the runabout. We can have Geordi walk us through the installation." _And I can talk to Beverly again_, he thought.

"Even if it works, it won't get us far, sir…but it might work."

Picard's smile widened. "All we need to do is to get as far as space dock, Worf. And then we'll have the saucer section back."

* * *

**About an hour later…**

"Beverly…hello." Picard smiled into the monitor, as the grainy image of Beverly Crusher gradually cleared and sharpened.

"Jean-Luc," she held her hand to her chest. "_Oh_, I am so glad to hear from you. I was so worried by that explosion, and the way our call ended…what happened, are you alright? Are you hurt?" she was talking so quickly, he put out his hand to try and reassure her as best he could from so far away.

"Yes, yes, I am fine. Worf is alright too," he said trying to sound upbeat. "We found that the cafeteria in the basement of Starfleet Medical was primarily intact. So we've been able to feed several hundred people for a few days so far at least. And we've even found some more survivors in the last day."

She laughed. "That's wonderful. I bet no one has been so happy to eat hospital cafeteria food as they are now."

"Yes, that is very true," he agreed laughing. "Things here are very hard," he admitted, his smile finally wavering a little bit. Her image flickered on the screen, and the thought that they might be disconnected urged him on. "But I just wanted to see how you are feeling. Are you well?" he asked both nervous and hopeful.

She nodded emphatically. "Yes…it's really day to day, but I feel very strong."

He leaned forward. "What about the baby? Can you tell me anything at this stage? The baby is alright, isn't she…or he-I mean I don't know if—"

"Do you want to know the gender of the baby, Jean-Luc?"

He opened his mouth slightly. "No," he said, surprising himself that he felt so strongly about the subject. "No, I would like to wait until we see each other. I'm just happy that the baby is healthy. Is that alright?"

She nodded. "Of course. Let's just refer to the baby as 'the baby' right now and save ourselves just a little stress, okay?"

He smiled. "Alright."

"Jean-Luc… I have to say it means so much to me the way you have been willing to accept the situation."

"Situation?"

"Well…I mean I'm sure that you have questions. But you haven't really asked me how—"

He held up his hand, beginning to feel uncomfortable. "It's alright, Beverly. I don't need to know the details."

"But…if I ever wanted—or felt I needed to tell you, Jean-Luc, would you listen?"

He forced a smile, not completely sure why the idea of her sleeping with his former self bothered him so much. Was it simply the fact that he hadn't been there, or was it something more? "Of course, I will listen to anything you want to tell me. I just…it's difficult for me to think of you…with him. So I would rather not think about it." He smiled quickly again and then looked away from the screen.

"Jean-Luc…I know it must be difficult. But I was with you, can't you see?"

He sighed and looked down at his hands before offering her a faint smile. "I think it would be better for us to discuss this in person," he said, eager to change the subject. "But…I also wanted to tell you that I have a plan to get off Earth and reunite with you. And I think it might work."

She brightened. "Oh? Well then tell me all about it."

* * *

**What's up everyone? I hope you are having a good week. Peace out for now. -PP**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"Helm, how long before we reach the Maxia Zeta system?"

"_At our current rate of warp eight, four hours, Captain. Any further orders, sir_?"

"No…not right now." Riker turned back to the star chart he was studying, which hovered above the desk in his office. He could see all of the active ship traffic crisscrossing the sector they were passing through, and three sectors away in Maxia. So far, things appeared quiet, but he could not help but feel a growing unease in his gut. Something wasn't right. His door chime beeped.

"Come in," Riker called out, looking up as Commander Obi stepped into the room. He looked almost cautious as he approached. Riker turned back to viewing the chart. "What is it Commander? Any word from Crusher's runabout?"

"No, Captain. They've gone silent for some reason."

Riker tapped his fingers on the desk. The runabout was unreachable. Not good.

Obi stopped in front of Riker's desk and placed his hands behind his back. "Sir, have you read the latest crew psych reports from Counselor Havens?"

Riker leaned back in his chair. "Yes."

"I'm concerned sir. Several crew members have reported to the Counselor and Chief Medical Officer for feelings of 'temporal uneasiness'."

"They're not the only ones, Commander. I feel uneasy. I'm sure the whole crew feels uneasy. Look what we've been through."

"But sir, what if there is something else to what they're feeling. You announced that our timeline changed from the correct one when the Ferengi interfered with events from the past. What if…what if some of us don't belong here anymore?"

Riker sighed and shook his head. "I also read the CMO's follow-up report, Obi, and Dr. Sai has chalked these incidents up to stress. But, as you know all five of these crew members are currently being monitored in sick bay. If it's anything more than stress, we'll catch it."

"Sir, you have to admit it's at the very least disconcerting to think that if you didn't exist in another timeline—or died in another timeline, that it is possible that you will simply disappear when we return to the correct timeline."

Riker looked squarely at his first officer. "You have a point, Obi. But that doesn't change the fact that without the Ferengi's meddling, we wouldn't be dealing with a Malkatan invasion. They wouldn't have mixed our technology with an alien graviton snare in what has turned out to be a devastating weapons arsenal."

Ob straightened. "You don't have to convince me again sir. Of course I agree. The timeline has to be corrected for the greater good. No question about that."

Riker sighed again. "I know you're only doing your duty, Commander; looking out for this crew." He hesitated. "You haven't personally felt any of this…temporal uneasiness have you, Patrick? Any kind of…shifting?"

Obi shook his head. "No sir."

Riker smiled. "Good." He gestured for Obi to sit down and then both men shifted their gaze to the star chart. As they watched a blip appeared, moving quickly toward the Maxia system from the opposite direction as the _Aldrin_. Riker swore under his breath. "Computer magnify at 321 mark 65." The blip grew and it was clear now that it was a ship.

"Computer, identify designation, speed, and approximate destination of the vessel traveling closest to the Captain's last stated coordinates," Commander Obi said.

"The vessel is Ferengi, marauder class, traveling at warp nine toward the Maxia Zeta system."

Riker slammed his hand on the desk in front of him. "Helm! Increase speed to warp nine point eight."

"_Aye sir. We will arrive at Maxia in one hour and thirteen minutes." _

Obi and Riker stood up with the same sense of urgency. "Even at maximum warp sir, they'll beat us there by at least half an hour," said Obi.

"Then we've got to try harder to make contact with the runabout. We've got to warn them."

* * *

**Meanwhile on Board the Runabout in the Maxia Zeta System…**

"The unidentified Ferengi marauder will enter the Maxia system in less than one hour," Geordi reported from the pilot's chair, both feeling and sounding completely gloomy.

"Doctor, as long as we continue in silent running mode, Captain Riker will be unable to contact us," Data added from the navigation center.

Beverly Crusher walked up behind Data and LaForge. "You said it yourself, Data, shutting down our communication arrays will make it harder for the Ferengi's sensors to track us."

"At least until they enter the Maxia system with us," said LaForge. "And then we're sitting ducks."

"Hardly," Troi chimed in. "You've moved us away from our old position to behind this asteroid…and we still have phasers after all. Let's not count ourselves out so soon, Geordi."

"Sorry…it's just that our chances against a Ferengi Marauder aren't good. I'm just trying to be realistic," he said, his usual upbeat demeanor notably absent.

"Geordi's right, Mom," said Wesley, fiddling with the replicated neutralizer from a nearby table. It was nearly like the one his mother had brought into the past to give to Captain Picard. "I think we should make a run for it." He hit the switch on his small graviton generator and began his experiment again.

"That will only make it harder for Will to find us. Besides, we don't know that this isn't Brom returning to deliver some more information. Everyone is right to be suspicious, but we can't know until they arrive. We're not leaving, and that's final," Beverly said stiffly.

Absently her hand dropped to her stomach and she smoothed her hand over it gently. She had checked the baby's vitals earlier that day. The baby resembled a fetus now, not an embryo as it should have. It should also have been much too early to tell the gender of the baby, but her pregnancy was more advanced than it should have been. She told herself that the baby was fine, and that was what was important. But in truth she was very unsettled by the speed at which the baby's development was proceeding.

* * *

**Earth**

Later that morning, Worf showed up on the hover bike and as he maneuvered into the survivors' camp Picard could see he was operating it more carefully than one would have expected from a Klingon. Several of the civilians gathered around murmuring. Any means of transportation besides feet were currently in demand, and he and Worf had become something of a curiosity to many of the civilians after they had killed the Malkatan.

"Is the engine weaker than you thought or are you going slowly on purpose?" Picard strolled forward. It was turning out to be a rather warm day and as the sun shone down on him he couldn't help but have an improved mood after talking with Beverly that morning.

Picard squinted in the sunlight as Worf slowed to a stop in front of him. His eyes fell on an orange-striped feline head that was sticking out of the top of Worf's backpack. Worf had several scratches on his face and didn't look very pleased. He stopped the bike next to Picard. "The animal attacked me…several times," he said darkly. "The faster I proceeded on the vehicle, the more violent she became," he said getting off the bike.

"She's no doubt been traumatized Worf," Picard suggested sympathetically. The cat peeked out at him.

"Very well," said Worf starting to hand the backpack to Picard. "Since believe you relate so well to cats _you_ may take her."

Picard shrugged, but as he walked forward it hissed out at him. "No thank you," he said quickly, taking a step backward.

Worf glowered at him. "If you cannot care for a cat, how do you expect to be a parent?" he asked seriously.

Picard shook his head. "Nice try Worf, but I think I am safe in presuming that my child won't have razor sharp claws and teeth."

Worf frowned. "Yes, for a moment I forgot that Klingon and human young develop differently." He knelt down opening the backpack, and the cat scampered away without a second look back.

"Data will be disappointed if we lose his cat, Worf," said Picard staring after Spot. "But then again" he added slowly. "He doesn't actually have real feelings, does he?"

"_No_," agreed Worf.

Picard nodded curtly. "Well…we shall see if she returns then; because I have no intention of chasing that cat through the ruins of San Francisco." He glanced at Worf. "Let's get Geordi's engine out of this bike, and then we'll contact the runabout again."

"You were able to reach them this morning?" Worf asked.

Picard nodded. "Yes. They seem in good spirits. They're waiting for Commander-for _Captain_ Riker's ship to meet up with them, at which point they can simply dock the runabout inside the _Aldrin_." He smiled to himself, glad that Beverly and the others would be safer once that happened.

"And then we intend to meet up with them, sir?"

Picard took a deep breath in and out and patted the side of the bike. "That's the idea. Come on," he said. "Let's get to it," he said taking hold of the bike.

"Hey, what are your plans with that bike?"

Picard and Worf turned to look behind them with surprised expressions. Picard's expression quickly turned to one of irritation. It was the young man who had challenged his authority last night after the Malkatan attack.

"I _said_ what are you doing with that bike? Why so secretive?"

Picard glared back at the man. He had no time or patience for this nonsense. "This bike happens to belong to a friend of mine," Picard said. "And my plans are none of your business." The fact is he wouldn't mind telling these people his plans once he had some real idea if the operation would even work. But until then, they were just getting in his way.

"What makes you the expert on everything?" the man questioned, raising his voice. He had just the kind of nasal tenor that Picard couldn't stand.

Worf pointed at the Captain. "This is Captain Picard. You would be wise to listen to him," he rumbled at the man.

"Captain _who_? It's Starfleet that got us into this mess with all of its military posturing. Well you're no one now," he said making sure he projected his words to all who listened. "You're just like the rest of us, _Mister_ Picard. So stop trying to play the hero," snarled the man.

Worf stepped toward the much smaller man, but Picard but a restraining hand on his arm. "No Worf…he's right. My rank means nothing anymore," he said quietly. "Come along," he said resuming his walk toward the shuttle.

The man followed them. "I want to know what you're up to, Picard. Are you building some kind of bomb? Because we don't need—"

Picard whirled around. "What is your name?" he snapped.

"William Stafford—"

"Well, _Mister_ Stafford, let me go about my business without interference, and I assure you, that I will let everyone here know just what I am 'up to' soon enough."

* * *

Patrick Obi waited outside Doctor Mayer's quarters. He had no idea why she had called him a few moments earlier. After a moment's more hesitation he reached out and tapped the door panel.

"Come in," called Mayer's voice through the intercom.

"Commander Obi," she greeted him as he walked in to her quarters. She remained seated in the dark, but her fine features were illuminated from the light streaming in from the window.

He stood still, suddenly wary. "What can I do for you, Doctor?"

She leaned forward. "Lights, fifty percent," she said and the lights were enhanced somewhat but it was still rather dark. She smiled up at him. On the table in front of her was a bottle of some amber colored liquid and two glasses. "Would you like a drink?" she asked him, offering another smile.

Patrick smiled back and sat down across from her slowly. "Sure," he agreed. "Thank you," he said noting the visible tremor in her hands as she poured him a glass and handed it to him. Clearly she had started drinking without him.

"Commander—may I call you Patrick?"

He laughed. "Of course," he said easily settling back into the chair.

"You have a beautiful smile," she observed.

His smile widened. "You've heard that one before," she said watching him as she took a sip of her drink.

He leaned back in the chair. "It's always nice to hear," he allowed. "Especially from such a beautiful woman." He smile faded. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked again.

She sat forward cradling her drink as she looked down into it. "I—I've been having these episodes, I guess you could call them. It's like I'm here…but I'm not."

He took a sip from his drink before setting it down carefully. He leaned toward her. "Doctor—"

"I thought we were on a first name basis," she said quickly. She was a little tipsy—and she was also flirting with him he knew. But he still didn't know why, or what she wanted.

"Okay…Johanna. I'm sure that whatever you've experienced is a very natural response related to learning about the changed timeline. Others have experienced something like what you are describing."

Her eyes took on a faraway look. "It's so horrible. I keep seeing this fire…but it's as though I'm in it—inside a memory that never happened. And I know where it is. It was my brother's engineering laboratory. He was a good deal older than me. When I was just a teenager he and my mother died in a terrible accident. My father was never the same. He became violent, abusive…a drunk. It was as though he blamed me for their deaths. I became immersed in my robotics research. My only saving grace was when he would leave for months on deep space missions. We simply couldn't live together." She blinked and put the glass down shakily. "Meanwhile I followed in my brother's footsteps, Patrick. In fact I was better than he was. I could do things with robotics that the best Starfleet engineers hadn't even contemplated yet—engineers like my father. And he knew it," she added with a small bitter smile.

She picked up the glass again shakily and drained it. "One night…before he went on his final deep space mission he got so drunk he began throwing things. He warned me; he said if I didn't give up my 'hobby' as he called it, he would come back and burn my laboratory—he said 'I'll burn it all…and I don't care if you're in it!'"

She looked at Obi almost triumphantly. "But he never got the chance. You see, he never returned from that deep space mission."

Obi suddenly took her trembling hand in his. "My God, Johanna, your father was part of the _Stargazer_ crew!"

She nodded and looked down at her hand in his, as if human contact was nearly alien to her. And now after hearing her story, he could understand why. Suddenly she gripped his hand passionately. "I keep thinking, Patrick…in the real timeline, if the Stargazer was never captured by the Malkatans-did he come back and burn my laboratory? Did he kill me just as he promised? And so you see why I don't want things to change. What if I don't _exist_, Patrick?" Her eyes seemed to stare through him. If she was capable of crying she probably had forgotten how many years ago.

Obi walked around the coffee table and bent down putting his arm around her shoulders. "You can't be certain, Johanna. Maybe you're just having a horrible reaction to what the Captain told us. You have to be strong."

"I don't know if I can do that anymore, Patrick. I've been strong for so long," she said. She reached up and touched his face and he enfolded her in his arms.

"It will be alright," he said, unsure if that was really true.

* * *

"_Goddammit,_" Picard roared from underneath the communications console. "I can't get a connection with the runabout Worf. I've got everything as it should be, but I can't get a signal." He pushed himself out from under the console, tired and frustrated.

Worf tossed a hyper spanner onto the deck, and straightened from his position inside the floor of the shuttlecraft. His bushy eyebrows knitted together. "I do not think we need LaForge's guidance after all, Captain. Between the two of us, we should be able to finish the installation by tomorrow morning."

"That's not what I meant." He was desperate to talk to Beverly again before he attempted to leave the planet. He needed to know that she and the baby were alright. Picard leaned against the console suddenly feeling dizzy. "Aaaa!"

"Captain!" Worf watched as Picard's lower half began to fade from existence. Within seconds, he was in solid form again, but seemed disoriented and was breathing hard.

"I'm—I'm alright," he assured Worf.

"Sir…how long has this been happening to you?"

Picard shook his head, seeming unsure. "Since before you and I reunited, Worf. I told Beverly about it…but…please don't mention it to her again. I don't want to worry her." He slowly opened his eyes and turned to Worf. "This must be what I went through before I disappeared that first time…it's happening to me again isn't it Worf? The timeline isn't right."

Worf looked concerned. "I do not know, Captain."

Picard took a drink of water and then walked over and dropped down into the hold next to Worf. "It's going to do me no good to dwell on it, Worf. If we work through the night, you are correct, we should be able to finish."

"Aye sir."

* * *

**Hello, I will be posting Chapter 7 soon. Thanks for staying tuned. -PP**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

**2367 About three months ago…**

_He rolled underneath her on her narrow couch, and her mouth pressed into his so earnestly that he could feel the hard edge of the couch biting into the back of his neck. It was wonderful and awkward, but mostly it was just wonderful. He had never felt her body in this way, and he was as impressed by the strength of her arms and legs as he was awed by how soft she was in all of the places he had never dared gaze at for too long; but that he had always longed to touch. But it was the sounds she made, particularly those of her breathing that threatened to send him over the edge. _

_Now that they had taken the next step, well now that they had tripped into the next step really—here they were on her couch after an admittedly rushed dinner. They were still wearing their clothes and although he ached for her to touch him, he was embarrassed at how aroused he was already, like some kind of teenager who couldn't control himself. He didn't want to give her the impression that this is how he would always be. He did have control; he was experienced, although surely out of practice. But even if he had been with a woman recently he had a feeling this would still feel new. _

_If she noticed she didn't seem to mind at all. Instead his arousal seemed to be matched by her own desire, and she was in the act of pulling her shirt up over her head when it happened again. He began to phase, and his hands which had been firmly planted on her upper thighs simply disappeared from view. He cried out in discomfort and in fear that she would realize what was happening. Her shirt was halfway over her head, when his hands disappeared and then reappeared, as she pulled it back down and stared at him with a startled expression. Her tousled hair and puzzled expression only made her more beautiful. "What? Are you okay?" She put her hands on his chest and shifted her weight. "Did I hurt you?" she asked softly. "I didn't mean to." Leaning down to kiss him again, she put her palm underneath his shirt, and traced her finger beneath his navel as his feet began to tingle as they did when his lower body was about to phase out of existence. He jumped. "No," he said hastily. "No you didn't hurt me…but, but I have to go!" To her obvious shock, he lifted her off of his lap, and stumbled to his knees on the floor. She fell back against the side of the couch and ran her hand through her hair with a legitimately stunned and frustrated expression._

"_What the hell is __**wrong**__ with you?" she demanded, watching him as he struggled to his feet and frantically pulled on his boots. He turned away from her both out of embarrassment and because he felt the dizziness threatening to overcome him._

"_I—I'm sorry, Beverly," he said pulling on his light jacket. _

"_Was it too fast?" she asked, getting up from the couch and approaching him. "It's alright, Jean-Luc… just tell me."_

_He shook his head and back toward the door. "I don't feel very well…I'm very sorry, but I have to go."_

_She adjusted her shirt and folded her arms over her chest self-consciously. Things had been going so well and now he looked like he was going to throw up. Not the reaction she had been looking for. "Well, will you at least stay so we can talk about this?" He wouldn't look at her._

"_I have to go…."_

Picard woke with a gasp in the early hours of the morning and it was still pitch black. His cheek was pressed into the deck of the shuttle craft in a smoky pool of sweat. He pushed himself up to a sitting position. Worf had fallen asleep sitting up against the wall. They had finished the engine installation and then fallen asleep from exhaustion.

He hadn't remembered until now what had happened between him and Beverly. He shouldn't have retreated from her that day. He should have stayed and told her everything. Instead he was lying in a pool of his own sweat dreaming of something that had happened to him literally in another lifetime. And now, he had to get to her. If it was the last thing he did before he disappeared again, he had to see her again.

* * *

**2355 Malkatan Base**

"I'm not familiar with these controls," Picard mumbled, his eyes roving around the cramped Ferengi shuttle. He ran his hands over the controls, unsure of everything he touched. Vigo bent down beside him. "I think this must be thrust…."

"This should be pitch and yaw then," said Picard, still not so sure as he touched a blue control in front of him and two white ones on either side of him.

The vessel suddenly rumbled underneath their feet as Commander Zev punched a control on the side of the wall. She shrugged. "I guess that was the main engine," she said.

"Good," said Picard, and pulled the neutralizer out of his pocket. He wasn't certain how it was supposed to work, but to get into the Singularity Net in which the _Stargazer_ was still floating above the planet, they'd need to use it to get through in order to dock with their ship, and then they would need to use it to escape in the _Stargazer_. So they weren't out of the woods yet. But Beverly had told him it would work. And he believed her.

He reached up and attached the neutralizer to the inside of the cockpit. It had some kind of magnetic property that allowed it to cling to the windshield. He activated it the way Beverly had shown him, and all the while he could feel Vigo watching him suspiciously.

"Where did you find that?" Vigo asked slipping into a seat behind him. Picard tensed. His instinct told him not to trust his tactical officer. The man was on the verge of cracking that much was clear. But after what Vigo had seen, Picard couldn't truly fault him.

"I'll tell you later," Picard said gruffly. He tried to concentrate on the alien controls, trying to force a familiarity that just wasn't there. It would do no good if he crashed the shuttle before reaching the _Stargazer_.

Zev sat down next to him in the co-pilot's chair. "Let's just focus on the mission, Vigo. Then we can talk," she said curtly.

Picard's spirits were lifted along with the shuttle, as it powered up and off of the landing pad. Up above them shimmered a force field of some kind. Hopefully the neutralizer would work on this as well. But as they approached the shield perimeter the shuttle began to vibrate violently.

"We're going to have to blast ourselves out," Picard shouted above the clamor.

"Initializing forward disruptor array," Zev shouted, pushing some buttons near her right arm. "I think," she added.

"Fire then," Picard shouted back at them. The Ferengi weapons were powerful—more powerful than the Malkatan force field and the shuttle slipped through mercifully.

"All clear above and below, Captain. No sign of the Malkatans," said Zev.

"Approaching the stratosphere," Picard announced, giving the thrusters some additional power. He actually broke into a smile as the clouds disappeared and they were greeted by the blackness of space. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest from the exhilaration. He slowed his breathing down as much as possible reminding himself that they were still not safe yet.

An alarm started to sound inside the shuttle and an orange glow bathed them. "Captain, reading a gravitational flux dead ahead," Vigo shouted.

"That's the Singularity Net," answered Picard. "Our ship is in there. Maintaining heading."

"Thirty seconds until intercept," said Zev.

He glanced up at the neutralizer. It was still activated by the looks of it, but he had no idea what to expect. "Get ready, brace for impact," he warned his tiny crew.

"Five seconds," said Zev. As they entered the Singularity Net everything inside the shuttle appeared to bend. And then in an instant they were through. Picard nearly fell out of his chair at the sight of the _Stargazer_ floating like a ghost inside the black envelope of the Net.

"Eight hundred meters and closing," said Zev, her voice almost a whisper.

"How are we going to get in?" Vigo suddenly demanded. "There's no one to let us in."

Picard licked his dry lips. He'd given it some thought. There weren't many ways to get in without violence unless…unless the _Stargazer's_ computer was awake and running.

"Find the communications array," he snapped. Zev and Vigo worked as quickly as possible to locate the right controls.

"I think this is it, sir," said Vigo nervously. "Activating," he said.

"Establish a link with the _Stargazer_."

"Aye sir, trying," said Vigo, his erratic behavior calming to a degree as his hands moved quickly over the foreign controls. "Link is up, sir," he confirmed after a minute or two.

"Nice work, Vigo," he said turning to the man with a smile. "Computer, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard," he said.

"_Acknowledged_," said the computer immediately.

"Computer, open the aft shuttle bay doors. Standard docking procedures."

"_Sensors read an unidentified vessel, approaching Captain,"_ said the computer.

"Scan the unidentified ship," said Picard. "There are three life forms. Captain Picard, Commander Zev, and Lieutenant Vigo," he said.

"_Scanning,_" said the computer. "_Welcome aboard, Captain,"_ the computer said as the shuttle bay doors opened slowly in front of them. Relief flooded through the tense muscles of his body and he relaxed into the chair. Zev said a prayer in Andorian and behind them Vigo let out a choked sob.

"We're home," Picard said quietly. He closed his eyes briefly as the tractor beam took hold of them gently and guided them into the docking bay. _Thank you Beverly._

* * *

**The **_**Aldrin**_**…**

"_Commander Obi to the bridge_," came Riker's voice through the comm. System. "_We're approaching the Maxia system shortly."_

"On my way, Captain."

Obi stood up, still holding on to Doctor Johanna Mayer's hand. They had been sitting silently on the couch in her living room. There was something between them, Obi knew, but he had to be careful. His loyalties were first and foremost to the Captain. But something about what Johanna had said about not being in the right time had stayed with him. Could it be possible that she had died in the prior timeline? That she had reappeared fully formed in this one as though nothing had changed? If Picard could disappear and everyone could forget him, why couldn't something similar have happened to Mayer?

"Thank you Patrick," she said softly, looking up at him. "It's been a long time since anyone was truly kind to me," she said as she let go of his hand. "But I know you have to go."

He nodded, backing away toward the door. "You'll be alright?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded to him. It wasn't until he left that she pulled the disruptor from its hiding place. She examined it closely, before tucking it into her boot. As she always did…she would do what was needed in order to survive.

* * *

"Everything alright?" Riker eyed his first officer as he strode onto the bridge. The usually confident Obi looked worried.

"Yes sir," said the young man, sitting down beside Riker.

"Good. Because we're about to get into the thick of it. Time before we intercept the Ferengi vessel?" he asked.

"Twenty minutes," said Lieutenant Kashirin from behind him tactical.

Riker and Obi looked at each other. It wouldn't be enough time.

"Shields up. Weapons at the ready," ordered Riker.

* * *

**Meanwhile on Board the Runabout…**

"They've spotted us," said Geordi, whirling around in his chair, before turning back quickly to tap at his console.

"Battle stations," Data said. Troi, Crusher and Wesley quickly moved to their seats and strapped themselves into place.

"Shields up," Crusher said, fastening her emergency harness.

"Shields activated," reported Data.

The brown crescent shaped Ferengi ship suddenly took up the entire view screen.

"That's not Brom's ship," said Geordi tightly.

Beverly kept her voice steady. "Hold our position. Hail them."

"Hailing frequencies open sir," said Data.

"Ferengi vessel, what is your business in Federation territory?" Beverly questioned.

Bok's image flickered before forming on the view screen. "Remember me?"

"Yes," said Beverly. "And I asked you a question, Daimon Bok."

"Presumptuous female!" he seethed. "If you remember me, then you know my business. My business is to destroy Captain Picard at any cost."

Beverly paused. "Captain Picard is dead." Troi glanced at her, hiding her shock at this unexpected tactic. "You've already seen to that," said Beverly coldly.

"I don't believe you, woman. What I believe is that you have, with the aid of my idiotic son traveled back in time and attempted to undo what must be, if Picard is to die in the past. And I cannot have that," he added.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bok," Beverly said.

Bok grinned. "Well then it is a good thing I don't need any information from you. The only thing I want you to know, is that you are about to die." He nodded to someone off screen, and then threw his arm down fiercely toward the screen. "Fire all weapons!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

**2367 Earth**

"Captain, I almost cannot believe it…but this shuttle is now operational," said Worf.

Picard grinned, punching Worf in the shoulder as they stared at the lit navigational console. "You see, Worf? You see what hard work, ingenuity and the power of will can accomplish?"

Worf turned to frown up at Picard from his seat at the console. "Captain, I mean no disrespect but even human optimism will not get this shuttle as far as Earth's moon…."

Picard smiled wider. "Worf…we're not going to the moon. We're going to space dock. And once we're at space dock, we'll take the saucer section."

"Given the attacks…we cannot be certain the saucer section is even operational, Captain."

"Mr. Worf, I am beginning to think I am keeping you around mainly to keep me grounded. Since when did I become so hopelessly optimistic?"

"Since you learned you are in the process of producing offspring, sir."

Picard looked down at Worf quizzically. "Worf, you have quite a way with words…and I am kind of glad that I never noticed before."

"Humph," said Worf, getting up from his seat. "Sir, all joking aside…."

Picard raised an eyebrow. "There was a joke somewhere in there?"

Worf shifted his feet. "Sir…we must let the other survivors know about your plan. And we must also discuss how best to locate our family members."

Picard nodded with a sigh. "Yes, you're quite right."

* * *

**2367 Maxia**

"Evasive maneuvers!" Beverly shouted.

"I'm on it," LaForge reported. "Hang on!"

"Marauder is in pursuit," Data stated. "They are continuing to fire on us, but our shields are holding."

"Well…keep them off our backs," Geordi snapped.

"Gladly," said Data. "Firing aft phasers," he reported.

"They seem awfully close," Beverly said looking at the navigational screen from where she Deanna and Wesley were seated. The Ferengi ship loomed, filling the view screen.

"Enemy ship is closing to within 600 meters," Data confirmed calmly. "We are within range of their tractor beam."

"Sirs! I recommend we put on environmental suits. Ferengi have been known to board damaged vessels and we stand a better chance if they try to depressurize the hold," said Wesley, jumping to his feet.

Beverly nodded and started to undo her safety harness, but Troi put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "You stay here, I'll help him." Deanna and Wesley took off running for the supply hold before Beverly could stop them. She sat back down and fixed her eyes on the screen again as the ship shook with another disruptor blast.

"I've got a torpedo bay with no torpedoes," Geordi griped.

"What about the asteroid you hid us behind before, Geordi?" Beverly traced her finger on the screen, and then grabbed the edge of the table as the ship shook again. "It's at…221 mark 33. We'll have to go backwards, but…."

"It's worth a try," LaForge agreed. "Hold on." The belly of the runabout was exposed briefly as LaForge took the ship up into a loop that brought them back over the top of the enormous asteroid. The ship shook and jarred as the Ferengi fired on them, but he was able to execute the maneuver bringing the ship back into cover.

"It's not going to take them long to find us," Wesley warned, helping his mother into her space suit. He looked over at Data. "Sorry, Data, there were only four space suits."

"That is quite alright, Wesley. As you know, I do not need one," Data responded calmly as he manned the ship's weapons.

Deanna sat back down locking her helmet into place. "Oh how I detest space suits," she murmured, fogging up the faceplate.

Geordi slowed the ship's speed and brought it underneath the shadow of the giant asteroid, letting the ship hover in place. He turned around in his seat, grabbing the suit Wesley threw him. "I have an idea," he said shoving his legs into the suit. "They're five times faster than we are, we're out-gunned—"

"But we are not outsmarted, Geordi," Data pointed out.

"I'm still not hearing your _idea_ Geordi," Deanna intoned, sounding hollow and quite critical from inside her helmet.

LaForge made a face as he lowered a helmet onto his own head. "Data, do we have anything on board powerful enough to blow a couple of holes in an asteroid?"

"Like a concussive charge!" said Wesley excitedly. Everyone turned to look at Data.

Data nodded. "We do have a case of twelve concussive charges in the small weapons hold. However, as Counselor Troi mentioned, we are waiting to hear your idea, Geordi."

"Okay, okay! Look," said LaForge. "We set all of the charges on the underside of the asteroid. We get their attention…then as they approach we slip underneath and out the other side."

"We just need some way to lure them down," said Troi.

"Yep. And then when the Ferengi ship comes down, we set off the charges and bam!"

"And by 'bam' you mean what…?" Beverly opened her palms expectantly.

"'Bam'," interjected Data. "A loud sound…a sudden impact…an unexpected occurrence-"

"Yeah, that one, Data," LaForge interrupted. "It'll create a diversion at least."

"Geordi we need a hell of a lot more than a diversion to defeat Bok," Beverly said. Geordi spread his arms wide and shrugged as if in a silent plea. "Alright," said Beverly. "How do we do it?"

"We need to set the charges…then we can set them off remotely from a safe distance," said Wesley.

"I will do it," said Data. "I require no space suit, and can operate in a vacuum with minimal risk."

Geordi nodded. "Let's do it then."

* * *

**2355 Inside the Singularity Net**

Their joy at reaching the _Stargazer_ was short-lived. As soon as Picard, Zev and Vigo were on board their ship again, the unspeakable horror of what they had just experienced began to settle in. All three crew members felt it; and it threatened to crush their already damaged spirits. The worst part was the silence that greeted them. They were suddenly reminded that they were the lone survivors of their capture by the Malkatans, and there was no escape from that reality. They all pushed on in silence until they reached the Stargazer bridge.

But there was something else. The disorientation they had felt down on the Malkatan base returned full force now that they were again directly inside the net. It was like a whisper inside each of their skulls. For Picard it was one of immense guilt; for Zev it was one of never-ending sorrow; and for Vigo it was one of undeniable hatred.

When they reached the bridge, Picard turned to Vigo. The man's eyes seemed to bore a hole in Picard's head. The hate in his eyes was no longer hidden beneath the surface. It glittered in his gaze as he studied Picard as if searching for a physical weakness.

Picard pointed at the tactical station, trying to keep his hand from trembling. He had to keep it together. "Man your post," he barked. Slowly, without taking his eyes off Picard Vigo moved to the station and activated the tactical panel.

Picard turned to Zev and tossed her the neutralizer. "Commander, can you find a way to link this into the ops station?"

Zev caught the neutralizer and looked down at it curiously in her hand. "Perhaps," she said. She looked up at him again. "What exactly is it supposed to do?" She studied his face. He knew she was looking for an explanation. It wasn't that she distrusted him. But given what they had been through, she needed something concrete to explain how they would get out of this situation. Unfortunately Picard wasn't quite sure himself.

"It…um, it is supposed to neutralize the effect of the singularity net—the space here that our ship is trapped in," Picard answered. "If we could find a way to project it…we could tie it into a propulsive beam…a reverse tractor beam of sorts," he said in a stronger voice as the new idea gained hold in his own mind.

"Based on what the Malkatans said, this net is some kind of graviton warp field that was used to ensnare our ship," said Zev slowly, still watching Picard. "But I don't understand how such technology could exist… anymore than I understand how this object here is supposed to neutralize it."

"He doesn't understand it either," said Vigo from tactical. "But I am even more curious to know how he came to find this object. Tell us, Captain…did you trade this technology for the lives of our comrades?"

"No!" Picard shouted at his tactical officer. The colors around them seemed brighter. It was the effect of the singularity net. He turned slowly as he saw the ghosts of their fallen crewmembers swirling around the bridge. He reached out in confusion and then covered his eyes with his hands.

"What is the matter, Captain?" Vigo shouted down at him. He began to walk away from his station toward Picard. "Is your betrayal beginning to weigh on your conscience?"

"Shut up and return to your post!" Picard screamed at Vigo. Vigo halted but smiled. His eyes were cloudy with the same hallucinatory thoughts that were plaguing Picard.

"Both of you must return to reality if we are to get out of this place alive," shouted Commander Zev, taking Picard by the arm. "Captain, we are all experiencing a sort of…collective psychosis because of the singularity net. Just as it made us see things down on the Malkatan base, we are growing delusional again." She blinked as the Captain's form seemed to undulate in waves in front of her eyes. She strained to focus. "We cannot allow ourselves to be overcome."

"You're right, Zev. She's right," he said pointing to Vigo. "Now we have to work together, Vigo," said Picard almost pleadingly.

"I will not collaborate with the man who is responsible for the deaths of my friends!" Vigo shrieked.

"_Shut up_, Vigo," said Zev, trying to keep hold of her own mind. _Things would be so much easier if Vigo was out of the way_, she thought darkly. But the Captain was right, they had to work together. "Captain…I need to know how you came to find this neutralizer mechanism," Zev said with quiet force.

Picard ran a hand over his hair. He knew he had to tell them. But would they think he was crazy? "It was—someone gave it to me," he admitted, knowing that it would not be enough.

Vigo's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Zev took a careful step toward the Captain. "Who?" she heard herself ask.

He took a halting breath in. "B…Beverly Crusher did."

Zev's expression froze in disbelief.

Vigo let out a shrill laugh. "You see? He is absolutely insane! He is _delusional_."

Picard looked down at his feet. "I'm not. She came to me."

"Captain," said Zev. "I don't see how that is possible-"

Vigo approached now quickly. "You _fool_…your obsession with that woman was your undoing, wasn't it? You probably thought some fat Malkatan guard was your best friend's wife. Who knows what you told the Malkatans in your delusional fog?! Who knows what you did…believing it to be her! Meanwhile our comrades were slaughtered, while you dreamed you were screwing Jack's wife. First you let Jack die…and now everyone else is dead because of you!"

"Stop!" Picard shouted, rushing Vigo.

Vigo stepped aside and threw his elbow into Picard's face, breaking his nose. As Picard fell he grasped the crook of Vigo's elbow and pulled him down to the floor. He immediately placed his knee on Vigo's windpipe, deciding in that moment that he wanted Vigo to die. But strong arms pulled him backward by the shoulders, as Zev intervened. He coughed as blood from his nose began to stream into his mouth. He held his head back and pulled his shirt up trying to cover his nose and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Dazed he sat down heavily at the ops station, as Zev shook the nearly unconscious Vigo awake again. She said something to him in a quiet but harsh tone and he nodded, stumbling back up to take his post again at tactical. She kept her hand on her phaser as she watched him retreat.

Picard coughed again, and placed the neutralizer on the ops station. Zev moved forward and crouched down beside him. Wordlessly they began to try and link the neutralizer into the forward tractor beam emitter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

**2367 Maxia**

"All set Data?" Wesley's words were spelled out in green on Data's wristband communicator. Out of habit, Data nodded, but of course, with no helmet on he couldn't respond verbally and be heard in the vacuum of space. So he hit a key on the communicator, signaling that he was finished setting the twelve concussive charges. He looked upward at the vast underside of the asteroid checking his work again. He had carefully but quickly placed the charges, as Geordi deftly maneuvered the runabout with Data standing upright out of a hatch at the top of the ship's hull. Signaling Wesley again, he was slowly lowered back down through the hatchway. It closed over him and there was a long hiss as the inner chamber pressurized. _"Re-pressurization and decontamination sequence complete_," said the computer pleasantly after a few seconds.

Data moved through the inner hatch quickly as it opened, and he rejoined the others. He nodded at Wesley, who clapped him on the shoulder as Data returned to his navigator seat. Geordi craned his neck back at Wesley. "Deploy the ion burst now out of our tail, Wes. That should give them an idea where we've been hiding. As soon as they close to an uncomfortable distance we'll pull away and blow the charges."

Wesley's face was taut with concentration as he bent over his science station and typed in code quickly. "Deploying the ion tracer…now." He stepped away and sat back down next to his mother, pulling his safety harness back down over his torso, as she reached for his hand.

"They've seen us," Deanna said tensely as they watched the screen at the center table together. She gripped the sides of the table already bracing for the inevitable impact of Ferengi disruptors again.

The Ferengi ship dipped just below the bottom of the asteroid. Geordi hit the thrusters just enough for the Ferengi to decide to follow them, and when the alien ship slid underneath the giant rock in pursuit, Geordi threw the ship into half impulse. "Now, Data," he yelled.

Data detonated the charges and a cloud of rock and debris blew into the front of Bok's ship.

An outline of the Ferengi ship glowed flashing red on Data's screen. "The Ferengi lowered their deflector shield frequency when we disappeared…and they have sustained unexpected damage to their hull as a result of Geordi's diversionary tactic," he reported.

Geordi swung the runabout around and headed back in the direction of the Ferengi ship, letting off a volley of phaser fire, but as Bok's ship emerged from the cloud of asteroid debris, it fired a plasma torpedo which struck the runabout it its left nacelle.

"_Shit,"_ Geordi declared, as the ship began to careen to the right. Another shot from the Ferengi's disruptor bank sent the runabout spinning out of control.

Beverly closed her eyes tightly, unable to focus on anything as everything spun around them sickeningly. "Jean-Luc," she whispered clutching her abdomen with one hand and Wesley's hand in the other. There was another round of thundering explosions and then she felt the tingling embrace of a transporter beam.

* * *

**The **_**Aldrin**_

"Fire!"

"Firing torpedoes and phasers, Captain," Lieutenant Kashirin reported from tactical. "Direct hits sir….Sir the Ferengi ship is disabled. They are making no move to retreat…sir they are signaling their surrender! And… they are offering to hand over Daimon Bok to our custody in exchange for 'two million bars of gold pressed latinum, to be paid upon delivery'," she finished reading the message with an air of confusion.

"Why am I not surprised?" Commander Obi murmured shaking his head.

Captain William T. Riker walked up behind Lt. Commander Meeta at ops. "Do we have the crew of the runabout?"

"Yes, sir," Meeta said with a smile, and the breathing through her respirator sounded notably relieved. "They are safely aboard and in transporter room one."

"Beam them directly to sickbay. Obi, you're with me," he said finally able to let himself smile, as they headed for the turbo lift.

* * *

Daimon Bok ran through the corridors of his ship, ignoring the panicked screams of his crew, along with a few death threats. He skidded to stop outside of the room, looked around him quickly and then stepped into his quarters. The time travel device stood by his bedside. To the ordinary onlooker who would never expect to see a time travel device in a bedroom, it appeared to be a stone pedestal about three feet high. Breathing quickly, Bok checked his belt for his disruptor and other important items, before hitting the side of the pedestal. _Picard must never win._ A blue beam of light shot up out of the top of the pedestal and grabbing both sides of the pedestal, Bok screamed as though he had reason to know this would be unpleasant; thrust his head into the beam and then disappeared.

* * *

Slowly, slowly the runabout spun over and over, its occupants having transported away just in time. "_Incoming recorded message, subspace channel 001,_" the computer announced, unaware that it was now alone.

The static-filled image of Jean-Luc Picard appeared on the screen mounted on the runabout's center table.

_"At the risk of someone else besides you seeing this message, Beverly, I decided to record this one and send it in a continuous loop, since I simply cannot rely on the communications system in this piece of space junk. But good news…we're operational now. So I wanted to tell you, that I will be on my way to find you soon. It will take me several days in the saucer section with only impulse power, but I will reach you soon." He smiled and then folded his hands in front of him pensively, as his smile slowly faded._

_ "I mentioned to you before that I was experiencing some discomfort and disorientation. I have now come to believe that the timeline has not yet been corrected, and that this is why I have begun to phase out of existence again. Worf prevailed on me to tell you, and I am glad he did. By the time you will have received this message, perhaps you will have realized that the timeline is not quite right. It may even be that I don't belong here in this time and place, even though I feel that i do. But I beg you…plead with you really-please do not try and correct anything on your own. I worry for your safety. If time needs to be rectified, let's talk it through together first and come up with a plan. Should our baby be affected by or even be the result of the changed timeline-well we must do what we can to protect our child. Now please be safe, and while you are at it, please tell Mr. Data that his cat has returned and is testing the limits of Worf's compassion, which has convinced me that I rather like cats. Goodbye for now, my love._

* * *

**Hello, it's been hella crazy this week, which accounts for the delay in posting. Hopefully you are still enjoying the story. It's about to get more interesting, so stay tuned if you will. Thanks for reading and reviewing. -PP**_  
_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

**2367 Earth**

They had been at this for an hour and Picard was losing his patience. He and Worf stood on top of the shuttle's ramp while a crowd of about three hundred scraggly looking people looked on. It was clear that the crowd was growing restless, and murmurs of confusion and low-level desperation carried through it like a slow moving wave.

"Look," he said, "we have the shuttle up and running. As I said, I promise that Worf and I will return for the rest of you. For any of you that want to come."

"Why should we believe you'll even come back?" someone called out.

"What gives you the right to take that ship anyway?" said another man.

"They're gonna leave without us!" a disheveled young woman shouted, holding her crying baby.

The murmurs in the crowd grew louder.

Picard took a deep breath and raised his voice. "Look…I don't know how I can convince all of you to trust me. But if one of you wants to come along for the ride, with Worf and me, to keep an eye on us…well you are welcome to."

The crowd quieted down again; but still suspicious.

"I'll come."

Picard focused into the crowd as an old woman stepped forward. It was Mary. He smiled down at her. "Very well." He reached down and grabbed her hands, helping her up.

* * *

**2367 The **_**USS Aldrin**_

When Beverly and the others energized in the middle of the _Aldrin's_ sickbay they were still engaged the same tense, abbreviated conversations that had been interrupted while on the runabout. Beverly still gripped Wesley's hand tightly. Wesley let out a loud exhale once he saw they were off of the runabout. Deanna, whose eyes had been shut, opened them slowly, and then hugged herself as though making sure that she was still alive. Geordi and Wesley exchanged glances and then began to laugh with exuberant relief. Even Data seemed surprised at this positive turn of events.

"We're in a sick bay," Beverly said confidently. "But on which ship?" They all looked around them, taking in the surroundings. Beverly's attention turned to the entrance of the sickbay as Will Riker and a handsome officer in command red and black walked swiftly in.

There were of course hand-shakes, hugs and kisses all around, and Riker introduced Commander Obi to the former _Enterprise_ crew. Riker put an arm around Troi's shoulders and looked around at his friends. "Is everyone alright? Do any of you need medical attention?"

"We're fine," said Beverly. "Thanks to Geordi's flying and your good timing."

"Yes, wonderful timing, Will," Troi agreed, looking up at him affectionately. He grinned down at her as she hugged his forearm encircling her shoulders.

Riker's smile faded as his communicator beeped. He slapped it. "Riker here."

"Captain, the Ferengi ship is signaling us again," Lt. Commander Meeta reported. "They have indicated a revision to their previous offer to hand Daimon Bok over for two million bars of latinum…he's gone missing—"

"Missing?" Riker exchanged alarmed glances with Beverly Crusher.

"Yes, sir. The Ferengi report that he was last seen entering his quarters ten minutes ago. Now he's nowhere to be found. A Ferengi named Kad appears to have assumed command. He says we can now have Bok for one million bars of gold-pressed latinum provided that we find him ourselves."

"Kad?" Beverly was suddenly furious. "That little _weasel_-he sold us out! I should have known…."

"The odds did highly favor such an occurrence," Data observed.

Beverly shot him a slightly dangerous look.

Riker nodded at Obi. "Prepare a boarding party. Let's find Bok and bring him back. Arrest him under Security Directive 33, and use caution and force if necessary."

Obi nodded and had already turned to leave the room when there was a strange warping sensation in the room as though a ripple of water passed through everything and everyone in the sick bay. Obi stopped in his tracks.

The Traveler floated in the center of the room, and slowly drifted down to land gracefully on the deck among the officers. "I am afraid that finding Daimon Bok on board the Ferengi vessel will not be such an easy task, Captain Riker. But I do know how such a task can be accomplished," said the Traveler.

"Where is he? Where is Bok?" Beverly demanded. Riker put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"He has traveled into the past," said the Traveler. "To murder Captain Picard."

* * *

**2355 Inside the Singularity Net **

"Let's try it again," Picard called to Commander Zev. He sat at ops, while she stood at science station one. Vigo stood silently at tactical, shooting a furtive, distrustful glance toward the Captain every now and then. "Calibrate at 150% this time. I've boosted the extra power from weapons."

"Leaving us nearly defenseless," Vigo murmured, staring at Picard hatefully.

"That's not true, Vigo," Picard said without turning around. "Our weapons systems are fine."

Zev nodded. "Ready, sir. It was a smoother fit than we could have anticipated. Whatever this technology is, it recognizes the gravitons that comprise our tractor beam. The computer is reading a solid link now between the neutralizer and the emitter. We should be able to use it to push a hole through the net."

Picard tapped his code into the ops station. "Initializing…now…switching helm controls to my command," he said. "On main viewer."

Vigo switched on the front view screen and the three crew members watched as a white repulsing beam emitted from the front of the Stargazer. Slowly it began to eat its way into the invisible fabric of the singularity net.

"Sir, it's working!"

Picard's breath came quickly as he kept his focus on the controls. "Ahead, one quarter impulse power…steady, steady," he said to himself. As an expanse of starlight flooded the view screen they all knew they were free. But instead of the elation they should have felt, they could not help but think that perhaps their troubles were not yet over.

* * *

"Are you going to help us travel back in time again to save him?" Wesley watched the Traveler expectantly.

"No Wesley. I have been forbidden to do so," said the Traveler. "The others of my kind are punishing me," he said.

"Why?"

"Because of my carelessness. Because I loosened the singularity net so many years ago during my early travels. And now the Ferengi have cursed the universe by providing its power to the Malkatans."

The Traveler continued. "The others of my kind allowed me to travel two more times across time and space in order to investigate the meaning and effect of my transgression. First I traveled into the past, where I witnessed the creators of the singularity net."

"What exactly is this singularity net everyone has been talking about?" Commander Obi asked.

The Traveler turned to him. "The singularity net was for lack of a better word, a prison or series of prisons, created by an ancient race to capture and punish the criminals of its society. Inside one of these nets there was no escape except through advanced technological means created by the same race. The forces within the net used a sort of…warping of time and space, which served to confuse and disorient the prisoner to the point of hallucination...and later insanity. The net was reserved for only the most vicious and irredeemable criminals, because of the very real risk that the prisoners might kill themselves or each other due to the very realistic hallucinations they experienced. It was nearly escape-proof."

Beverly's fear and feelings of guilt swiftly returned. _She had left him behind._ "Are you saying there is no real escape?"

"No. Actually, the neutralizer you brought Picard in the past should work quite well to effectuate the escape of the _Stargazer_," said the Traveler. "The neutralizer is derived from the same technology as the net. In fact it was used by the jailors of that ancient race to neutralize the effect the singularity net had on all who encountered it. In simple terms it is a complex key meant to unlock an even more complex prison cell."

"So then the Captain will be able to escape," Geordi said. "I mean…in the past."

The Traveler nodded. "It is likely that he will have found a way. But there is more. This prison system was discontinued after a thousand years, and the net itself was abandoned."

"Why?" asked Troi. "It sounds horrible and cruel…but effective."

The Traveler smiled faintly. "It was too effective. So effective that the warp fields created inside the net on the home planet of this race eventually broke loose and caused chaos within the ancients' society. Regular people turned on one another influenced by the effect of the Net."

"And this ancient technology…this is what the Malkatans have now used to create the graviton weaponry that is now destroying the great cities of Earth…and Starfleet?" Riker felt an artery beating in his neck as the blood drained from his face.

"Yes. I believe that they have used this in combination with the Ferengi and Starfleet technologies they encountered as a result of Bok's capture of Captain Picard in the net in 2355."

"And now he's not satisfied with that," Beverly blurted out. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to this anymore! We have to travel back into the past and stop Bok from carrying out his plan. He won't stop-" She grabbed Riker's arm and looked into his eyes. "Will…don't you understand? He won't stop until he kills Jean-Luc. And if Jean-Luc dies in the past, he'll be gone forever. I didn't tell Jean-Luc about Bok. He has no idea, and won't be able to defend himself or his crew."

Riker looked at her in surprise. He didn't know anything about Beverly traveling into the past. He studied her anguished expression. Something about her was different; but he couldn't quite place it. He carefully pried his arm from her steely grasp, but then took her hand in his. He looked at the Traveler. "You said you can't help us travel this time…so what the hell are we supposed to do? We can't just leave Picard to be killed."

"If Bok traveled from his ship into the past, then it is very likely he has the Pedestal of Time."

"Pedestal of Time?"

"A very valuable, powerful artifact no doubt sold to him on the black market. Search Bok's ship and you will find it," said the Traveler. "You may use it to travel in time as he did. And it should take you to his last destination. But it can only be used to bring you back by others manipulating it from this dimension. And keep in mind that travel through this device can be quite painful."

"So if he has not informed his crew of his intentions, how does Bok intend to return to this dimension?" Data asked.

"I'll bet he told Kad everything," said Geordi. "There's no way Kad's not trying to get a cut of the action, as long as there's latinum to be made."

"No. Bok doesn't care if he returns to our time or not…" Beverly's expression was stony, determined. "His only thought is of hurting Jean-Luc. And that is why we have to stop him before he does."

The Traveler's chest began to glow, and he clutched at it with his hands, appearing to be in pain. "I must go," he said. "I am being summoned. But I promise that I will return."

"Wait," Wesley called after him. "You said that your people allowed you to travel twice more to understand the effect of what you had done. You told us about the past…."

The Traveler smiled. "Yes, Wesley. I have also seen the future. A future stolen by Bok and sold to the Malkatans for much too high a price." He shook his head, and his eyes were suddenly full of sorrow. "No…I do not believe you want to know."

"Do we look like people who can afford_ not_ to know?" Riker said angrily. "_Tell us_!"

The Traveler clutched at his heart again. "Nothing will survive…nothing…unless they are stopped." He cried out and then disappeared, shimmering away.

* * *

Riker clenched his jaw and turned to the others. "Who has the replicated neutralizer? This is all we've got to help us fight the Malkatans...and the one Picard has in the past-that's the only other one that we know of?"

Beverly nodded yes and then stepped out of her space suit, taking the neutralizer out of the pocket of her blue lab coat. As she held it up, there was a commotion at the sickbay entrance.

"Out of my way!" A security officer backed steadily through the door to sickbay with his hands up. Beverly watched startled as an elegant but frantic looking blonde woman stepped through the doorway holding some kind of a disruptor.

"Johanna!" Commander Obi shouted, and held his hands out toward her. "What are you doing?"

Doctor Johanna Mayer's hand shook as she leveled the disruptor at Riker. "I heard it…I heard it all. You're planning on going back to save Picard."

"That's right," Riker said as calmly as possible. "Now, I need you to put the weapon down so we can talk, Doctor."

She shook her head, and the disruptor shook in her trembling hand, but she didn't lower it. With her free hand she wiped tears from her blurry eyes. "You know what I've been through? How I've built myself up…I did it on my own. My father tried to hold me back—threatened to kill me. But eventually he disappeared with the rest of the Stargazer crew. And now you want to bring the son of a bitch back. Well I'm not going to _let_ you, Riker."

"Johanna," reasoned Obi. "This isn't the way…you don't want to hurt anyone, I know you don't. I think you're wrong, Johanna. I think you will survive even if the timeline is changed back to the correct one. You have to have faith."

"Faith in what? Some mystical time traveling being and some ancient technology we don't even understand? What's your plan? To save Picard? You people don't give a _damn_ about anyone else!"

Riker stepped forward. "Don't do this, Doctor. Listen to Patrick."

Mayer sniffed in and looked from Obi to Riker. "Which one of you plans on returning to the past?" Her eyes fell on Beverly, and she swiveled the disruptor in her direction. Data stepped in front of Crusher quickly, and she fired in that same instant. Obi leaped forward to push Riker out of the way of the beam and both men fell to the floor hard. Data moved Crusher out of the way, but Mayer fired again forcing them both to fall to the deck to avoid the searing beam. The neutralizer which had flown out of Beverly's grasp and into the air, disintegrated immediately.

"Get a doctor over here!" Riker screamed from underneath Patrick Obi's unconscious form as soon as he saw the stun beam hit Doctor Mayer from behind and she fell to the deck.

* * *

**Hello: as always, thanks for reading and reviewing... -PP**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

"Please have a seat," Picard said to Mary as he ushered her on to the shuttle craft. She glanced around curiously before sitting down and then fumbled with the safety harness before he bent down to help her.

She put her bag down next to her feet and then smiled up at him in surprise, as she felt something rub against her shins. "Oh! I didn't know you had a cat on board this shuttle," she said with a little chuckle.

Picard stared down at Spot, scratching his head. "Neither did I…um, Worf?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"When did Data's cat rejoin us?"

"I do not know, Captain. But it is clear she did not wish to be left behind. Conveniently…just as my scratches have healed," he muttered and sat down in the navigator's seat.

The cat meowed at Picard. "Your timing is quite good, I will give you that," he said to Spot. The cat blinked up at him.

Picard moved to the pilot's seat and paused before powering up the thrusters. He turned around to address the old woman. "Mary, I hope that in time Mr. Worf and I will gain your trust. However, I am afraid that I can't promise that you will be any safer on board a Starship than you are here on Earth."

Mary smiled at Picard in a kindly way. "Don't you worry, young man, I already do trust you two boys," said Mary. She reached down into her pack and pulled out a large bag, and then sighed. "I just needed a break from those people. God, all they do is complain, non-stop! I figured you two boys would be better company. And don't get started about the danger, because I'm much safer with you two than I will be down here just waiting for those ugly Malkatans to return."

Picard raised an eyebrow. "I see...well, you know it has been quite some time since someone referred to me as a young man," he remarked.

She eyed him. "My guess is I've got at least forty years on you, son…."

_Son?_ "Fair enough," he quietly replied. He watched as she began to pick white puffs of food from the bag she was holding, popping them in her mouth one at a time.

Picard pointed haltingly with his index finger. "Is that...?"

Mary stopped munching her snack momentarily and looked at him. "It's popcorn," she said with her mouth nearly full. She held the bag out to him. "Want some?"

"Um...perhaps later," said Picard. He watched as the cat jumped onto the seat and curled up in Mary's lap, purring. Picard slowly turned back to his station and shot Worf a look, but the Klingon merely shrugged. He was used to odd human behavior. It was the cat that worried him.

Picard sighed as he powered up the shuttle. "Well then, let's not waste any more time."

* * *

**_The USS Aldrin_**

Riker pushed Obi off of him as gently as possible. The man was solid, and unconscious people always seemed heavier than when they were awake. "Sorry," he grunted, even though his first officer couldn't hear him, and then he sat up, pointing at Johanna Mayer. "Restrain her, I don't care if she is unconscious," he ordered the security officer who stood above Dr. Mayer's limp body.

The officer nodded and turned to grab restraints from his colleague.  
"Where should we put her, sir?" he asked bending down.

Riker got to his feet and glared at the man. "She just_ fired_ a disruptor into a sickbay full of officers, Ensign..."

"The brig then sir?"

Riker nodded curtly. "The brig." He watched as the officers picked Dr. Mayer up. The stun setting must have been strong. "After she's been locked up, proceed with caution to locate CASU. I'd like to know why the hell my personal security robot wasn't here intervening while she was threatening to shoot me."

Riker rubbed the back of his skull. The arm he had injured down on the colony was aching again. He recalled that CASU had saved him down there. So where was the robot now? He glanced over at Crusher and Troi who were talking quietly. They seemed alright.

"I'm _alright _Deanna," Doctor Crusher was insisting, still seated on the floor, while Troi crouched beside her. "Just a little bump on the head," she added.

Riker looked down at Obi who was slowly coming to. The medical personnel surrounding him chattered to each other anxiously. Finally one of them turned to look up at Riker. "He's sustained a slight concussion and his arm was grazed by the disruptor fire."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes sir."

Riker leaned down to look at his first officer. "It was set to kill…Obi saved my life."

Obi was murmuring something as he regained consciousness. "She didn't mean it sir…please let me talk to her." He tried to sit up, but Riker put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, Patrick…rest a few more minutes. Mayer is the least of my worries, right now."

"But she's destroyed the only neutralizer we have, sir," Wesley said, walking toward Riker.

Riker nodded. "I know." _Damn_ her…she'd really complicated matters. Now it seemed they would need to travel into the past not only to save Picard, but to get the only other neutralizer—the one Picard had in his possession. Without it, the Malkatans would continue to destroy the Federation.

Crusher touched her tender scalp absently as she stared out after the security officers as they carried Doctor Mayer out of sick bay. "Did you say her last name is Mayer…?"

Riker turned to look at her. "Yes. Why, does that name mean something to you?"

Crusher frowned. "Vaguely…I don't know." She shook her head and then started to push herself to her feet, shrugging off Deanna's assistance.

"Slowly, Beverly," cautioned Troi. "In your condition, you need to be more careful—" Wesley moved to his mother's side nervously, grabbing her elbow to steady her.

"What condition is that?" Riker snapped staring at the two women and Wesley. They were behaving secretively, and he didn't appreciate it. He needed everyone clear and everything out in the open in order to plan their next move. What were they keeping from him?

Crusher straightened. "I'm fine," she told him pointedly, chin raised.

"That still doesn't answer my question, Doctor." Riker saw the determined look on her face and knew he had to change his tone quickly, if he was to have any chance of reasoning with her. The prospect that Picard could be killed in the past, never to return again was still unthinkable, even though he had recently struggled to do his best to come to terms with Picard disappearing from the present. Beverly had tried to save him in the past, but whatever she'd done hadn't been enough. He could imagine how troubled she must feel. And that she of course loved the Captain made it all that much harder to bear.

He walked toward her and softened his expression, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Beverly, I know you…and I know for a fact that you are already planning on returning to the past to help the Captain. But you're on my ship now. So if you're ill, I need to know about it—"

"I'm pregnant, Will," Beverly interrupted softly.

Riker let his hand drop from her shoulder limply. He looked into her eyes. "Wow…I have to say…I didn't expect that."

"Neither did I," she admitted, taking in his shocked expression. "But I'm pregnant. And aside from this bump on my head, I assure everyone that I am perfectly fine."

As she walked past him, Riker turned to look at Deanna with an alarmed expression. _How? _He thought, as he watched Wesley follow his mother out the door.

Deanna folded her arms over her chest and looked up at him with mixed amusement and irritation. _Will…_

_When she traveled to the past…._

Deanna nodded.

_And that's when they did it?_

Deanna sighed in exasperation._ Did… it? Very classy, Will. I don't have any specific details if that is what you are looking for. _

He shrugged._ And the Captain has now re-appeared here in the present? On Earth? And he knows?_

_Yes, yes, and yes…._

_This whole thing is so crazy,_ he thought.

_Finally, you've thought something I can agree with_, she thought back at him.

Wrapping up their silent conversation, Riker winked at Deanna and then turned to look at Data and Geordi who were chattering away intensely about the neutralizer.

"The runabout's hull and starboard nacelle are compromised, Geordi…it is too dangerous to bring it aboard the _Aldrin_. It is also highly likely that the runabout will explode within the hour."

"We need the information stored in the shuttle's replicator, Data," insisted LaForge.

"So you think there's a chance of making another neutralizer then?" Riker interjected hopefully.

"It's possible," said LaForge. "I recommend that we upload all computer files from the runabout ASAP, before we lose them entirely.

Riker nodded. "Proceed."

* * *

**In orbit around Earth…**

For as long as he had known about Starfleet, there had been a Space Dock. An immense, elegant space station; it was the first thing the crew of a returning starship saw, and the last thing the crew of a departing starship saw when it left Earth. It is where Picard remembered the saucer section of the Enterprise had been docked and decommissioned four months earlier after he had done the unthinkable and destroyed the star drive of his own ship. But as he and Worf's rickety shuttle approached the old familiar area, not only was space dock missing, but so was the _Enterprise_.

"It's not there," he said, unable to bring his gaze from the screen. Picard got to his feet. "It's not there! My ship..." His hands gripped the back of the seat tightly, trying to steady himself because it felt as though his legs had turned to rubber.

As they drew in closer, debris from what had been a massive explosion floated by the view port, buffeting the shuttle. Picard passed a hand over his eyes. "All of those lives…lost."

Worf said something in Klingon and then glanced at Picard. He had run a scan quickly and there was nothing that would have shown itself to be debris from the _Enterprise_. "It is…as I suspected, Captain."

Picard turned to him intensely. "All-stop. What are you talking about Worf? What did you suspect? Are you telling me you knew the _Enterprise_ wouldn't be here?"

Worf turned fully to look up at the Captain. "Before you disappeared Captain, the Enterprise saucer section was in Space Dock. But after you disappeared, as I have explained, time as we know it began to change. The _Enterprise_ in this altered timeline is intact and currently under someone else's command—a Captain named Jellico. So I did not anticipate that it would be here, at least not in the way that you had anticipated, sir."

Picard felt the veins in his neck begin to pulse with anger, and he balled up his fist on the back of the seat. "Why didn't you just say so? Why did you let me believe in something that could never be?"

"Captain…several days ago, the remains of the fleet—ten starships were recalled to Earth to defend against the Malkatan attack. One of those starships was the _Enterprise_. A few days ago it was reported that nine of the ships had gone silent. The tenth ship—the USS _Aldrin_ under Captain Riker never reported to Earth. I hoped that the _Enterprise_ –the _whole_ ship would be here in orbit. But to be truthful, I did not know what we would find."

Part of what Worf said made sense, but all he could think of was that he had failed Beverly. "Worf, I can't very well take a ship that is under someone else's command," he said, his voice rising. "And is it even here? Do the sensors detect my ship?"

Worf looked down at his console. "I have not been able to pull it up on the sensors yet."

"Worf that was our only chance to find our families…my only chance to reunite with Beverly!"

"Captain-"

"No, Worf…I don't want to hear it," he snapped holding his hand up.

"Perhaps I too was blinded by Human optimism," Worf murmured to himself as Picard stalked angrily to the back of the shuttle.

* * *

It was happening again. He was shifting through time. Would he die before he had a chance to see Beverly and tell her in person how much she meant to him? Would he even live to know his child? He felt dizzy and leaned on the interior wall of the small cargo hold. He tensed as he felt a small hand on his back.

"Son? What's wrong?" It was Mary, and although he knew she was trying to comfort him, he didn't want to turn around. He leaned his forehead against the wall.

"I was trying to find a way to get to the woman I love," he said in a low voice. "She is going to have our baby, and I have to see her, before…before I disappear from this time. I don't belong in this time and place, Mary."

"Nonsense," she said, rubbing his back. "Of course you do."

He turned around and looked down at her. A wave of nausea came over him and he swallowed and looked away.

She grabbed his hand in hers. "There is always another way, Jean-Luc. If you love this woman…what is her name?"

"Beverly," he said quietly, still looking away.

"If you love Beverly then you will find a way to get to her before it's too late. You got this piece of junk shuttle up and running didn't you?"

He nodded slightly and looked at her again with a faint smile.

She reached her arms around him suddenly and squeezed. "Then cheer up," Mary said firmly. "Things can only get better from here," she reasoned.

He laughed and then closed his eyes, as the world began to steady itself around him once more. He was back in this time—if even temporarily. Mary was right; he could not give up.

They both turned at the sound of a beeping noise coming from the cockpit.

* * *

"Captain!"

Picard ran forward still holding Mary's hand in his. His eyes immediately caught on the image on the viewer. "What the hell?" He gestured for Mary to sit down, as all three stared out of the view port. After Captain Picard walked away from him, Worf had resumed orbit of the Earth. And now upon Picard's return to the cockpit, he discovered that Worf had not been completely wrong.

"They are all here, Captain. All nine of the starships…including the _Enterprise_," Worf added.

As Worf indicated, the starships floated in a line, and between each one was a strange bolt of white plasma energy, seemingly connecting each one to the other. If the Malkatans were present, they were not visible to the eye or to the shuttle's sensors.

"Life forms?" Picard asked.

Worf shook his head. "If anyone is alive on board those ships, our sensors are too weak to read them, Captain. Or else the life signs themselves are too weak."

Picard jumped into the pilot's seat once again. His eyes locked on one familiar looking elegant shape amidst the rest of the ships. "Setting a course for the _Enterprise_," he said, engaging the thrusters.

* * *

**The **_**Aldrin**_

"Come in," Beverly called out.

Riker walked in to the guest quarters, with his most winning smile prepared. But when he saw the anxiety on his friend's face, the smile wouldn't come.

"Wesley just stormed out of here after I refused to change my mind about returning to the past. Actually, he wanted to come with me."

"But you told him no," Riker said, sitting down in a desk chair. Beverly remained standing.

"Of course I did," she said in a practical tone. "I'm not going to risk my son in that way."

Riker's brow creased. "But you're going to risk your baby…."

"I'm not asking anyone for their approval," she said tightly. "Judge me all you want. It's very simple. I have to go."

"Hell…I'm not judging you, Bev," said Riker. He finally grinned at her. "I'm going with you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

**2367 The _Aldrin_**

"What do you mean you're coming with me?" Beverly dropped her med kit on the table and crossed her arms in front of her.

Riker gave Crusher a puzzled look. "I thought I was being clear enough...look, Beverly, we need to get that neutralizer, and the Captain Picard of the past has it in his possession."

"Of the_ past_? Will, you're talking about him as though he's somehow a different person. But he's the same man you've known."

"Except he's not going to have a clue who I am, is he?"

"True," she admitted.

"So…are we going to tell him?"

Her face went immediately pale and he realized…she was still wrestling with telling the Picard of 2355 that she was pregnant. But that wasn't exactly what he had meant.

"Tell him what?" She asked quietly as she twisted her hands in front of her. The front she had been keeping up had dropped. She looked vulnerable all of a sudden, and he felt for her.

"Are we going to tell him that we're from the future," Riker clarified.

She looked down at her feet, obviously disconcerted. "Um, yes. I think we have to…don't you?"

Riker nodded tensely. "If he's going to trust us, I don't see any other way. He has no idea who Bok is, much less the danger he and his crew are in. And, of course we need to convince him to give us the neutralizer back." Will sighed and shook his head. "I don't know…a lot could go wrong."

"I gave it to him," said Beverly, regaining some of her natural confidence. "I see no reason why he wouldn't simply give it back to me. But I'm telling you right now, in my mind this neutralizer thing is secondary."

"I'm with you," he agreed.

"As long as we both understand my reasons for returning," she said.

Ruler nodded. "You intend to save him from Bok. Well, so do I..."

"Good," she said, grabbing for her blue lab coat and putting it on.

Riker smiled at her still trying to make peace. He handed her a heavy tan coat with multiple pockets. "You'll need something more substantial than a lab coat. Here, this will protect you in case we're grazed by disruptor or phaser fire...just don't get hit head on."

"I'll try my best." She smiled tightly and then paused while pulling the coat on as her hand grazed her abdomen. It didn't make any sense-she was already starting to show. Everything was happening much too quickly.

A horrible thought crossed her mind for the first time. What if she entered the past and the baby disappeared? Was she making the right decision by going back to try and keep him safe? Was she risking their child? What if she just stayed in the present with him, and trusted that in the past he would be able to fend for himself? No...she decided that she couldn't do that either.

Riker watched Beverly as she put a hand over her eyes and bowed her head seeming to freeze with the weight of too many decisions. He move closer. "You okay?"

After a moment she nodded and looked up at him, forcing a smile.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" he persisted gently. Uh oh…_wrong_ question. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Riker wisely moved out of Beverly's way as she snatched a small duffel bag nearby and threw her med kit and a phaser into it. She tossed the bag over her shoulder and walked toward the door quickly.

Before he could follow her, she turned around abruptly, and he was dismayed to see that the troubled look on her face had returned.

"I haven't decided whether I am going to tell him yet, Will," she admitted, looking incredibly guilty. "About the baby," she added.

"Right," he said quietly. "Well…why don't you just wait and see what makes sense when you see him?" He cleared his throat. "I won't get in your way, but I'll be there to support you. Okay?"

She smiled, looking just a little relieved. "Okay."

* * *

**2367 In Orbit around Earth**

"How are we going to get in?" Mary asked from in back of him.

Picard felt a wave of vertigo sweep over him as he sat at the shuttle's flight controls. And then he heard Vigo's voice as clearly as if his old tactical officer was sitting next to him. _"How are we going to get in?"_ Vigo asked. "_There's no one to let us in."_

Picard blinked as the metallic grey sheen of the Enterprise hull filled the view screen. "Worf is our communications array working?" he asked, trying to shake the ghostly voices from his brain. He had never heard Vigo speak those words, so why did he hear the man's voice speaking them? Why now?

"Yes, sir," said Worf. "Activating," he said.

"Establish a link with the _Enterprise_," he ordered.

"The link is up, sir," Worf confirmed.

"Nice work, Vigo," he said turning to his right with a smile.

Worf did a double-take. "Sir?"

"_Enterprise_, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard," Picard said, not missing a beat. "Requesting to dock in shuttle bay one. "

There was no immediate answer; then: "_Request denied._ _Captain Jean-Luc Picard has been missing in action and presumed deceased since 2355,_" said the Enterprise computer. "_Unidentified shuttle, please acknowledge the appropriate security code to continue docking procedures."_

Picard's hands shook on the control panel, and sweat ran down his back. Dead…since 2355. He didn't belong here in this time. He blinked perspiration out of his eyes and looked over at Worf. "Mr. Worf…you—you try," he gritted his teeth to maintain his composure.

"Computer, requesting docking procedure, Security 1-001-Alpha-002," said Worf.

"_Acknowledged_," said the computer immediately.

Worf glanced at Picard, who was staring straight ahead. "Open the aft shuttle bay doors," ordered Worf. "Standard docking procedures."

"_Acknowledged_," repeated the _Enterprise_ computer.

* * *

"Are you sure you're feeling well enough to accompany us over there, Patrick?"

Commander Obi nodded at Riker and Doctor Crusher and smiled weakly. His head was killing him and his arm was very sore, but he was glad to be alive. "Aye sir."

"Energize," Riker said and the interior of the Aldrin's transporter room was replaced by dark but ornate furnishings of a Daimon's ship. Of course, the Daimon in command, Daimon Bok was missing. He'd traveled into the past to kill Captain Picard, and Beverly and Will planned to follow him. Riker pulled his phaser and quickly surveyed their surroundings.

A Ferengi who was even smaller than was typical, stood surrounded by armed guards, looking very pleased with himself. But Riker was in no mood to bargain.

"I see no latinum bars," accused the small Ferengi self-importantly.

"You're lucky to be seeing anything at all," Riker said. "You're ship attacked an innocent Starfleet vessel—"

"And then you attacked my ship," the little Ferengi interrupted. "I am a Grand Daimon now…and this_ female_ is hardly innocent!"

"And you are hardly _grand_, Kad," remarked Beverly calmly. "In fact, you are the smallest, most pathetic creature, I believe I have ever seen."

He squinted and twitched, letting out a slow hiss.

* * *

The _Enterprise_ shuttle bay was eerily quiet. Picard had quickly overcome his strange experience in having been rejected by his former ship—a ship that no longer recognized him. As he spoke, he attempted to keep his voice strong. "It's a good sign that we were able to get aboard," he said, checking his phaser. "But from here on in, we should expect trouble. Now, Mary, if you feel safer you may stay here, but-" he turned and was shocked to find that the old woman was now standing up, holding a large phaser rifle in her hands.

"I'm coming with you," she said firmly.

Worf took an involuntary step backward. "Do you even know how to _use_ that weapon?" he demanded.

She shrugged. Picard raised an eyebrow and gently pushed the barrel of the rifle away from the direction his knee where it was currently pointing. "Mr. Worf, please give Mary a quick but thorough weapons tutorial before we proceed," he said warily.

"Aye sir."

* * *

The ship, not surprisingly, was deserted. When they reached the bridge on the turbo lift, Picard turned to Worf. "You served with Captain Jellico…you all did, didn't you? If he's in there, on the bridge, he'll recognize you, won't he?"

Worf remained silent.

"Stop trying to protect me Worf!"

"Sir…as I have tried to tell you…after you disappeared that day in Hawaii everything began to change. Traces of you and your influence began to disappear. Only those of us who knew you and who served along with you remembered you, Captain. After Commander Riker was promoted to Captain, it became even clearer that all of us who had served on board the _Enterprise_ were now out of place. According to the records some of us served with Captain Jellico on board the _Enterprise_."

Picard frowned. "Do you remember serving with Captain Jellico?"

"I have memories of serving with both you and Captain Jellico," Worf said. "It is as though I have lived two lives..."

"And yet you have not been phasing in and out of existence as I have," he observed.

"No sir."

"Very well. Let's proceed," he said tightly.

* * *

"Daimon Kad—" Commander Obi began, and paused as one of Kad's guards snickered nearby.

Kad whirled on his subordinate angrily. "Your insolence has been duly noted, Bardo," he shouted.

"Dissention among the ranks, Kad?" Riker asked.

"More likely he doesn't actually possess the rank of Daimon," said Beverly. "He'll do anything to appear more than he really is."

Kad's jaw worked angrily as he regarded Beverly, but he said nothing.

"_Daimon_ Kad," Obi began again overemphasizing the title this time. More snickering. "You have two options. I arrest you under Security Directive 33 for aiding and abetting Bok and bring you into custody on board the _Aldrin_…or you take your chances with Captain Riker."

Kad was appalled. "How are these choices? These are not fair choices!"

Obi smiled. "Maybe not, but I'm not sure you want to hear the third choice…it's even worse."

"I choose Riker then," Kad blurted out. At least escape was possible where he hadn't simply turned himself in.

"Good choice," said Riker, grabbing Kad roughly by the arm. "Now, you are going to do everything in your power to get us between Bok and Picard. I'm sorry to be so direct, Kad, but it seems you've run out of choices."

* * *

**2367 Enterprise in Orbit**

The first thing they saw when they stepped onto the bridge was the now familiar Malkatan weapon they had faced on Earth. A black globe of energy hung over the command center. As it spun, it resembled a miniature black hole. Aside from the floating singularity, the bridge was empty save for one person. A slender man with blondish greying hair sat at the helm, facing a blank view screen. His shoulders sagged as he sat there silently. A thin zigzagging line of electric extended from the floating singularity into the side of the man's head. It appeared to be the same type of energy that they had seen connecting each of the nine starships.

Worf slowly scanned the jet black circle of energy with his tricorder, while both men clutched their phasers in hand. Mary held her phaser rifle loosely, staring open-mouthed at the floating disc. Worf suddenly moved away and shut off his tricorder. He grabbed for Mary's arm and pulled her with him.

"What is it?" Picard asked Worf, but training his phaser on the still human figure seated at the front of the bridge.

"The closer we are to this object, the more likely it is that we will be susceptible to its influence," said Worf. "I believe it is similar to the other weapons used by the Malkatans, and as such it has mind control properties."

"And other more destructive effects which we have seen firsthand," added Picard. Picard looked at Mary who blinked. "Don't stare at it, Mary," he warned. "Be careful."

Slowly Picard walked forward, closer to the man at the helm. Worf and Mary followed behind him and soon they stood watching him, unsure of what to do next.

"Captain Jellico," said Worf, kneeling down to look at the man's face. Jellico's pale eyes were open, staring into the console. His mouth moved, but his words were almost a whisper.

Suddenly there was a flurry of alien voices emitting from the console, making demands.

Jellico suddenly began speaking in a clear voice. "Malkatan Vessel 1701-D reporting." The alien voices rattled off several other sentences and then Jellico slumped forward, once again in a zombie-like state, seemingly held up only by a thin strand of energy attached to his head.

"Captain," said Picard. "If you can hear me, where are the other members of your crew?"

Jellico's lips moved, but if he said anything, it was too low to make out.

"We're here to help you. Where is your crew?"

"Near…Malkatan base…alive."

"And the crews of the other ships here in orbit? Are they alive and in the same place?"

Jellico nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes," he whispered.

"Where is the Malkatan base?" Picard asked.

"Island…South Pacific…prisoners—must save them!" Jellico suddenly blinked rapidly. "Here! You must hide!"

Picard stared at the man in confusion and horror. "Hide? From what?"

Worf's eyes widened in realization. "There are Malkatans on the _Enterprise_. Knowing them, they will only spare a few soldiers at most."

"They're coming now," Jellico whispered. Picard glanced in alarm at Worf. Grabbing Mary, they rushed back to the command area and crouched down out of the line of sight of anyone who entered the bridge.

The approaching voices were harsh and guttural, and they sounded so familiar to Picard, that for a minute he thought he was somewhere else…in the past. But they were on the bridge of the Enterprise with him. He looked at Mary and for the first time she appeared terrified. He put his index finger to his lips to signal silence. She shut her eyes and Mary shrunk into his body. He held her tightly, trying to keep her calm and quiet as the Malkatan voices grew louder.

He couldn't understand what they were saying…or could he? Something about retrieving the orb. The ships were now ready for transfer…the Starfleet prisoners down on the planet could soon be eliminated. The General was demanding a report from his base on Earth…_General Unh_. Picard felt the name like a knife twisting.

The footsteps halted. Peering up through the back of the command center Picard could see that there were two Malkatans…unsuspecting of his presence, he hoped. One of the Malkatans pointed at Jellico's captive form and let out a rolling laugh. He felt an almost uncontrollable fury boiling inside.

The other Malkatan held his arm out straight and the floating singularity in the center of the bridge shot immediately into his hand closing up, encased in a metallic ball in the alien's palm. The energy stream extinguished, Jellico's neck snapped backward and he fell limply to the deck. He was either dead or unconscious now.

As the footsteps grew closer, he felt a steely resolve settle inside him. He lifted his chin to Worf, and Worf jumped up and out, firing at the first Malkatan. As they struggled, he ran around from the opposite direction, and tackled the second Malkatan, sending the deactivated singularity weapon out of his hand. The Malkatan fired, and Picard felt the beam pierce his right shoulder.

He screamed in pain and rage, thrusting his phaser into the Malkatan's large gut, and fired. It was the Malkatan's turn to scream as they both fell to the deck. Dimly he was aware of Mary grabbing the singularity weapon in her hands, and firing on the Malkatan, as Picard desperately rolled out of the way. Mary fired again and the Malkatan disappeared. Worf growled something over and over in Klingon, and finally dropped the Malkatan he was fighting from his grip. The alien made a gurgling sound and then his eyes slowly turned a lifeless grey.

Picard dragged himself over to the tactical station and pulled himself to his feet. He leaned against the station breathing heavily and looked at Mary and Worf who were each standing upright against the wall, resting.

Picard coughed and clutched at his burned shoulder. "They're keeping the rest of the Starfleet officers on an island in the South Pacific. General Unh, and his base are there." He took several deep breaths in through his nose. "We've got our ship back now, we've got one of their weapons…and it's time we gave the Malkatans a taste of their own medicine."

* * *

Riker shoved Kad ahead of him into Bok's room, and Beverly followed behind him. They saw the drab brown pedestal immediately as they walked into Bok's lavish bedroom. It looked plain and unassuming, but now they knew better. "Let's go, Kad," Riker said gruffly.

"Wait!" Kad looked up at Riker and Beverly with a certain amount of fear, and an equal amount of cunning. "Are you certain you want to do this? You never know what you will find on the other side," he warned them.

"Then I have a feeling that if we take you with us," Beverly said. "You'll be the perfect guide."

"It's going to hurt! I am warning you," exclaimed Kad.

Riker glared at Kad. "What do we have to do?"

Kad glanced around nervously. "Just put one hand on the pedestal and lean in." He licked his lips. "I'll go first," he offered and almost sounded generous.

"No," said Beverly. "We all go at once," she said suspiciously. She grabbed Riker's hand in hers and stepped toward the pedestal. Riker held one of Kad's arms behind his back tightly, then shoved him toward the pedestal again. As the Ferengi instinctively reached out to break his fall, his small hand landed on the pedestal, and Riker and Crusher quickly followed him. For all of them there was a rushing sound, a high pitched noise in their ears, and the room disappeared.

* * *

**Hello, thanks for continuing to read and review this story. Please stay tuned for more if you are so inclined. Thanks again! -PP**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

**2355 Somewhere in the Batu System (Altered Timeline)**

"Father, will you _please_ stop hissing into my ear!" Brom shouted. "You are spitting into my lobes!"

Daimon Bok pushed himself away from his son reluctantly, but continued to lurk nearby with a nefarious expression.

Commander Brom sat in his command chair, wiping off his ears and trying to maintain the appearance that he was in control of his ship. Several months ago an older version of his father had appeared, asserting that he had just traveled through time. This future version of his father had a plan to kill off one of his rivals, a human. Brom himself had never even heard of such a creature, but was soon willing to play his part in the plan once he learned that he would not only survive in the future because he would avoid being killed by Picard, but he would grow to be a rich and powerful Ferengi. But now, future Bok was back, which meant something had gone wrong. And for the past fifteen minutes, he had been frantically explaining it to Brom. As yet, Brom was still unconvinced.

"I will continue to spit into both of your earlobes until you hear me, my son. This human must die, and he must be destroyed by your ship, Brom," Bok shouted.

Brom rolled his eyes at the ceiling of the bridge. "Father you told me to lure him into the singularity net—I did that and the Mal—whatever-you call them captured him. Now apparently he and his crew have escaped? That doesn't bode well for your plans to kill him…."

Bok shrugged and clasped his hands together. "A slight set back, I agree. But that is why I am here. If you destroy Picard and his ship right now, you will still live to become rich and powerful."

Brom slowly turned to regard his father. "And why would I not be alive in 2367? I have already changed the past as you asked, haven't I? Picard didn't kill me and instead was captured."

Bok hissed at him again, and Brom moved his head away distastefully, checking to see that his favorite be-jeweled tunic had not been stained.

"He must not survive!"

"That is not a real argument, father. Why put myself in harm's way yet again for nothing? Besides, what if this Picard person recognizes my ship and holds a grudge?"

"His ship was damaged before the Malkatan's net captured him," said Bok. "I know for a fact he was tortured and some of his crew were killed by the Malkatans…he is weak and you are still in the superior position."

Brom tapped the top of his ear with his manicured finger, and turned away.

Bok bristled at the insult but knew he would need to make a showing of good faith to convince his son. "I will make sure you are paid handsomely for this Brom."

Brom turned back to face his father. "Desperation suits you father. And that is not a compliment." He gestured for his assistant who rushed forward dutifully. "Bero, write up a standard contract for my father to sign. And make sure the latinum amount is unequivocal and that he initials that section. I don't trust him—he is my father after all." The assistant nodded quickly, turning to Bok to put the agreement in writing.

Brom addressed his helm officer. "Set a course for the Maxia Sector. Level three Anti-matter burst will get us there soon enough."

* * *

**2355 On Board the Stargazer in the Maxia Sector (Altered Timeline)**

Picard sat in his command chair leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, staring out at the star scape in front of him. He was deep in thought now that his mind had begun to clear somewhat. The truth was, he was thinking of what was to happen next. His ship was functional, but there were only three of them now to operate it. He wished that the rest of his crew were alive and that he could turn the Stargazer around, and set a course for Malkata to rescue them. But they were dead. All of them.

General Unh was still living and his crew was dead. His hands tightened into fists. Had Unh done it all himself, or had he assigned an executioner? A place deep in Jean-Luc's heart that he had never accessed before; a very dark place that perhaps had not existed before now, did not want him to tell Starfleet the truth about what happened. Not because he wanted to hide his own culpability in the matter, but because he truly wanted to return in order kill his former captor himself. And he didn't want anyone to know of this revenge.

He knew it wasn't like him, and no one he had known before his capture would expect him to react in this way. Was he a different human being now than he had been before? Somehow in the face of the brutality he had witnessed and the humiliation he had experienced, he had been transformed. It was as if something good and noble about him was left back on that planet, and perhaps it was that piece of him that stayed behind in the room with all of his dead comrades.

Had it not been for the neutralizer, Picard, Zev and Vigo would never have escaped the singularity net. And without Beverly Crusher he never would have obtained the neutralizer. But you see, now that his mind was clear and free from the influence of the Singularity net, his encounter with Beverly was that much more bizarre and dreamlike. Beverly. Clearly the neutralizer and its technology were real—but how could Beverly have been there on that base; and how did she then disappear into thin air?

Moreover, how could Beverly have even known where the Stargazer had been, when Starfleet Command hadn't been able to mount a successful rescue? And now his comrades, and not even he could reasonably believe that the beautiful wife of Jack Crusher; a woman whom he had believed hated him after Jack's death, had saved his life.

And yet…he remembered every word, every sensation that had passed between them, and even so, it could not have been real. Perhaps Vigo was right, and he had been hallucinating because of the net. Perhaps he had merely seen what his subconscious had wanted to see, and not a Malkatan, but Beverly. But he could still feel the pressure of her lips, and the taste of her tongue and skin. Perhaps, as Vigo suggested, he had only dreamed about making love to her, or envisioned it in a very real sense, just as he had so many other times when he was on the base.

But there had been a few moments that he could not reconcile with that theory. And this was because as he lay beneath her body, he watched her sleep, resting her cheek on his chest. With each breath she took, he felt her rib cage pressing into him and then receding with each exhale. He felt the wonderful and delicate warmth between her thighs still resting against his lower body and knew that she was as alive as he was. When she awoke and rested her chin on her hand and looked at him, he looked into her eyes and he asked her if she was real. And she had responded that she was. And the reason he had asked, was that she had whispered things to him and had loved him in a way that he could never imagined before even though he had thought of her so often while in captivity.

In that moment he finally could see a difference between the Beverly who had visited him in his mind, and the person who was with him for those few hours. And as she wiped away the tears that had rolled out of his eyes; tears he hadn't even realized had left them, she said "we will be together again like this in the future, Jean-Luc. I promise you."

So he couldn't believe that she had been a figment of his imagination, any more than Vigo and Zev could believe that she was real. So he would simply not speak of it to them. But he would always know the truth. Her whisper echoed through his brain again. _In the future…I promise you…._

* * *

**2355 Elsewhere...**

Beverly blinked in the darkness, and felt around her. She heard a groan next to her and thrust her hand out blindly. Her finger poked something soft.

"Ow…jeez," she heard Will Riker complain. "That was my _eye_! Yes, I have another one, but _come on_!"

"Sorry!" she said. Her ears were still ringing and her mind felt numb from the effect of the pedestal of time, which put simply was unpleasant. A thought of panic entered her mind. "Where's Kad?"

Riker sat up, still blinking in pain, and pulled out a small flashlight and shone it him around on the floor (his instinct told him Kad would be down low) and the light caught on a small body balled up on the floor. He shuffled closer on his hands and knees and saw that Kad was indeed lying on the floor with his hands clasped over his sensitive ears.

The pedestal of time was hard enough on humans he had just learned, and apparently was even worse for Ferengi and their sensitive craniums. This just clarified for Riker how absolutely insane Bok must have been to continue using it. Somewhere along the way his vendetta against Picard had become less about avenging his son's death and more about ruining Picard at any cost. So someone like Bok had to be feared at the very least for his unrelenting zeal.

"You okay?" he asked Beverly, as their eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. She looked dazed, but just below the surface was a fierce determination. It made him remember that perhaps Bok should be more worried about Beverly, and not the other way around.

She nodded. "Yes, I can feel it wearing off gradually." She rubbed her eyes. "Wake him up, I want to know where the hell we are," she said gesturing at Kad.

Riker shook Kad, taking out some restraints. He encircled one end around his own wrist and the other around Kad's uninterested in taking any chances on him escaping. "Kad, wake up and tell us where the hell we are."

Kad whimpered and then began to jerk his limbs back and forth when he realized Riker had handcuffed him. Riker tugged his arm. "You're not going anywhere without me, so it's best you keep things honest, Kad," he warned.

Kad slowly got to his feet beside Riker. He glanced around him. "It is just as I assumed. We are on board Brom's ship in the cargo hold! Bok has completely lost his mind. There is no _profit_ left in this venture."

"My guess is that if there is one stray bar of latinum on this ship, you'll be the first to find it Kad," Beverly said.

"Insolent female!"

Riker yanked Kad toward him roughly.

"Argh!"

"Brom is Bok's son, right?" Riker asked ignoring the squirming Ferengi.

"That's right," Beverly said, slowly getting to her feet. She was in good shape, so it shouldn't have been such an effort. She reached out to lean against a wall, and her other hand dropped to her stomach for the first time. She glanced down in alarm as her hand fell on her rounded belly. _This is how I felt when I was four months pregnant with Wesley_, she thought. She took a deep breath. The jacket Riker had given her had been loose, but now she could hardly close it over her stomach. She pulled it around her and told herself that if she had to she could still hide it from Jean-Luc. But now that she knew she was on board Brom's ship, hiding her pregnancy was secondary, as she just hoped that she would have a chance to see him again before Bok carried out his plans.

She could see Riker was watching her, but it was obvious he was not planning on commenting on her fast moving pregnancy. What was there to say?

Kad on the other hand was staring at her stomach with bulging eyes. He pointed and looked as though he was about to say something completely inappropriate when Beverly pulled her phaser and aimed it at his chest.

"Keep your comments to yourself," she warned him. "And help us find Bok, before I have to set this thing to kill."

Riker shined the flashlight on his own face for dramatic effect and looked down at Kad. "You heard the doctor. Let's get moving."

* * *

**On board the Stargazer **

"Captain…" Picard's head jerked up at the sound of Zev's firm voice approaching. How long had she been speaking to him?

"_Captain_ Picard," repeated Commander Zev walking toward him with her hands clasped behind her back. "Whatever that technology was you…obtained on the Malkatan base, it was quite effective."

"Hmm? Yes, it appears so," he answered, trying to shake the images of Beverly from his brain again. He straightened in his chair, and sat back, leaving his hands on his knees.

Zev noted the Captain's faraway expression. "Do you now feel free of the singularity net's influence, Captain?"

He shrugged slightly. "I suppose….." he got to his feet and looked toward tactical, finding the station empty. He turned back to Zev with a frown. "Where's Vigo?"

Zev's single functional antenna curled toward him in what he had come to recognize was Andorian amusement. "I ordered him to go and take a shower—he stunk."

Picard laughed. "He's not the only one. I suppose we should all learn to start getting back to normal life."

Zev's antenna twitched. "If that is possible. Sir?"

"Yes?"

Zev let her hands drop to her sides in a more informal stance. She was militaristic to the core, another Andorian trait which often put her at odds with some of the more mild-mannered rules and regulations of Starfleet. But her strict demeanor was one which he recognized in himself, and perhaps that was why they got along so well. So to see her change her stiff posture in front of him was unusual. "Sir, you must forgive Vigo for the things he said to you. He certainly did not really mean them."

Picard sighed and closed his eyes tiredly and then opened them slowly. "You mean the things he said about my responsibility for the deaths of my crew…including Jack?" Zev said nothing, so he closed his eyes again. "Or was it the vulgar things he said about Beverly Crusher?"

"Captain, he was-"

His eyes snapped open and he stood up to face her. "He was completely out of line!" he shouted. "He had no _right _to talk about her in that manner."

Zev stared back at him with her antenna pointed in his direction, indicating she had no intention of backing down despite his sudden fury. "Captain, Vigo like you and I was under the influence of the singularity net, and its mind controlling effects. I am sure none of us want to be judged by the actions we engaged in while on the base or any lingering after effects we may now be experiencing."

Still seething, Picard paced away from her and then turned back, struggling to get his emotions in check. "Commander…I'm very sorry that I shouted at you. Of course…perhaps we are all still suffering some ill effects."

Zev reached up to lightly touch the top of her head where her antenna had been severed by a Malkatan blade. She blinked, recalling that the blade had been left intentionally dull, and her torturers had spent several days sawing it off. "Perhaps some of us will never stop suffering these effects, Captain." She fixed him with a serious stare. "Do you know that I cannot stop wondering if my family has forgotten me?"

"Oh Zev, I am sure that is not the case."

Zev's antenna flattened on top of her silver hair. "Before we came out for this last deep space mission my wife threatened to leave me, Jean-Luc."

Picard stared at her in surprise. "But Mira loves you, Zev. I have seen it in her eyes each time I've met her. And as you know, I am no expert at reading women's emotions."

"But she told me…." Zev's right hand began to shake-a nerve tremor left over from having her wrists clasped in restraints for days. She quickly bit her knuckles, and then placed her hand behind her back. "But Mira said I've spent too much time away from home," Zev said quickly. "Captain, I am not even getting to see my children grow up. And she is right. Why did it take being captured and tortured on an alien planet for me to truly understand the things that should be important to me?"

Picard looked down at his boots. "Zev, I don't know," he said softly. "You see, I have been wondering the same thing about myself. Perhaps we have both been too focused on our careers—too focused to see that there is more to life, my friend," he smiled faintly.

Zev smiled back and her antenna lifted slowly. But her smile faded. "You and I may someday recover, Captain. But not Vigo…and if there is a court martial…."

Picard shook his head. "If there is a court martial, I will take responsibility for everything—our capture, torture…even the deaths of the crew. I am captain…and I recognize that this is on me, Zev."

Zev's expression grew dark. "Captain, have you wondered why Vigo insists upon blaming you at any cost for the deaths of the crew?"

"You told me down on the base—General Unh convinced Vigo that I wouldn't give up the security codes, and they murdered the crew because of my refusal. He believed the Malkatan's lies…."

Zev slowly shook her head. "_No_. Vigo created the story about the security codes to cover something even more horrible. He knew I wasn't present when the crew died and had no way of knowing what really happened to the crew. And he knew I was as compromised mentally as he was. But as more of my memory has returned, Captain, I have remembered what Vigo was like when they brought him back into the room with me."

For some reason, Picard walked back to his seat and sat down stiffly. He knew he didn't want to hear what she had to say, but he looked up at her anyway…waiting.

"Vigo was screaming and flailing in the arms of the Malkatan guards, and was covered in blood," Zev continued. "He kept screaming: 'they made me do it, they made me do it!'"

"When the Malkatans left us alone, I asked Vigo what they made him do. And he looked at me and said 'I thought they were Malkatans…they all looked like Malkatans…I didn't mean to do it', and he cried and cried until he fell unconscious." She looked away. "I suppose that I blocked it out, because the meaning behind his words was too terrible for me to face. The Malkatans must have used their mind control to convince Vigo to kill our people. They thought it was a game…."

Picard brought his palms to his face. He dropped his hands and shook his head. "I don't believe it. In fact, I _can't_ believe it. No."

"Then I hope and pray to the gods that you are right, Captain. Because if Vigo did kill our people, no matter how buried it is within the other hallucinations he will eventually sort out what is real and what is not; and he will remember. And there is no recovery from such a realization."

* * *

Just then the doors to the bridge hissed open and Vigo stepped through. He smiled and the skin around his eyes crinkled in a way that made him seem really happy, which was a nice change. It would have been less unsettling to see him smile so genuinely had they been discussing less morbid topics. He approached his station, still smiling. "There is nothing like a hot shower," he said, oblivious to the stares of Picard and Zev.

"Are you saying we finally have hot water on this ship? Because that would be a first," Picard added, attempting a jovial tone. The last thing he intended to do was set Vigo off again. If Vigo had killed the rest of the crew, he should undergo a court martial. But there would be no trial which in Picard's mind could fairly convict this man, knowing what he had been through—what he had been forced to do. But still he fought a wave of revulsion, just looking at Vigo.

Vigo laughed, and then frowned, looking down at the sensor controls. "Sir…we have an incoming ship."

Picard sat up straighter in his seat. "On screen," he ordered.

The view screen filled with the image of a very familiar ship. Picard pushed himself out of his chair. It was the strange crescent shaped ship that had lured them into the trap in the first place!

"Sensors read this is the same ship we encountered prior to being trapped in the net, Captain," reported Vigo excitedly.

"Sir, I think we are right to suspect that the ship that lured us must belong to the Ferengi who were collaborating with the Malkatans," said Zev. Her voice was calmer than Vigo's but the tense undercurrent in her voice matched the way Picard felt. Finally they had a legitimate target for their collective aggression.

Picard slammed his fist into his palm angrily. "Set in a course to intercept, ahead full impulse."

* * *

**Hi, thanks so much for your reviews, as I appreciate the feedback. I hope you are having a good time with the story still, and thanks for reading. Have a good weekend. -PP**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

**2367 The **_**Aldrin**_

Data and Commander Obi stepped carefully into Dr. Mayer's quarters, phasers at the ready. A tight-lipped security officer followed them along with Geordi LaForge.

To say the least, things were in disarray. "Wow," quipped LaForge. "Looks like someone had a tantrum in here."

Commander Obi turned to give the engineer a decidedly threatening stare, but said nothing. "_Man, he looks like the athletic big brother I never had…and I'm sort of glad I never did," _thought LaForge. "_Because he kind of looks as though he wants to kick my ass right now."_

Patrick Obi turned back to Data. "That's CASU right there," said Patrick pointing to a nondescript metal box about a meter high, sitting next to a table.

"Ah," Data said simply, approaching the motionless object and scanning it with his tricorder.

"_Looks more like a suitcase than a robot," _Geordi thought. He scanned the scientist's quarters with his VISOR and then his gaze fell on the table top next to CASU. "Nobody move," he said quickly pointing at a small object on the table.

The security officer took a step forward, but Commander Obi put a hand on the man's chest. "Didn't you hear LaForge? Stay still! Now what is it?" he demanded from Geordi.

Finally some support. "It's CASU's operating chip, from the looks of it…wouldn't you agree, Data?"

"Yes, Geordi. But I fail to see the reason for your heightened level of concern."

"That's because you don't see it like I do," Geordi said emphatically. "Someone pulled the chip from CASU knowing that to do so would trigger a self-destruct mechanism within CASU. CASU's control chip is also a detonator. I take it this is no typical robot," he added, looking at Obi.

"No, certainly not. Can we destroy it?" Obi asked. Patrick stared at the chip as though he hoped his gaze would make the problem go away. He couldn't believe that Johana Mayer would have been that desperate to not only risk herself to stop Captain Riker, but also to run the risk of killing anyone who tried to interfere with her. He had thought she cared about him, but perhaps not. After all her talk about her father, she hadn't trusted him enough to confide in him about her plans to confront Riker. Not that he would have ever assisted her; in fact he would have done his best to stop her. But despite his disgust with what she had done, her failings now made her seem more human and attractive to him. It didn't make sense, but few things did lately.

"The chip?" Geordi replied. "No, not safely—I mean we could destroy it remotely, but we'd run the risk of destroying CASU in the process—along with this entire corridor," said Geordi.

"_Goddamn_," Obi ran his palm over the top of his short hair. "We can't leave it here either. It could blow when we least expect it."

"Sir, I recommend allowing me to attempt to disarm the self-destruct program."

"Data!" LaForge threw his hands up. "We can't let you risk yourself in that way."

"No one else is capable of disarming CASU, Geordi. And as Commander Obi has stated, to leave it here unattended would be just as dangerous."

Obi looked closely at Data._ "_Data I recognize that I'm in command here, but I want this to be your choice. It's a very dangerous venture. And we can't afford to lose another talented officer like you."

"Thank you, Commander. But I accept the risks."

"Very well then. Please proceed."

* * *

**2367 In Earth's Orbit**

"All systems online and operating at optimal levels, Captain," reported Worf," apparently more than happy to be back at his old post.

"Thank you, Mr. Worf."

"What are you planning, Jean-Luc?" Mary asked him as he walked around the bridge of the Enterprise.

He felt as though there was a spring inside of him, and that if he simply focused it properly he could use the coiled energy to his advantage. Picard turned to regard his new unlikely crew mate, who stood alongside Worf. "I intend to use the Malkatan weapon Worf is holding in his hand-and turn it against the Malkatans in defense of the Earth."

"I thought you wanted to find Beverly and to see your child," she said.

"I do, and of course that plan hasn't changed at all," he said somewhat defensively. "And now that we have warp capability I will be able to leave and see her within hours instead of days. But I think we all agree we must make a stand against the Malkatans, and we must do so before they realize that we've recaptured one of our ships."

"What do you have in mind?" Worf asked, leaning over the railing. The deactivated Malkatan weapon sat next to him on top of the tactical station.

Picard gestured toward the small metallic ball which they all knew held a massive power. "We use that against the Malkatans. Do we have anything on board that can propel such a device?"

Worf harrumphed. "We can use it to arm a photon torpedo tube, Captain."

"Very good," agreed Picard. "Make it so. Meanwhile I shall see if I can de-attach the ship from the Malkatan plasma beams."

Worf nodded and grabbed the Malkatan weapon in his hand, leaving the bridge while Picard walked up to take the tactical station.

* * *

Mary walked past him and knelt down beside the prone body of Captain Jellico. She looked up suddenly. "He's moving...he's alive, Jean Luc!"

"Good," said Picard. "There should be an emergency med kit on the wall to your right. Unfortunately that will have to be the extent of our medical assistance," he said studying the tactical panel. He knew he didn't sound very sympathetic to the fallen Captain Jellico. The fact was that he was not sympathetic in the least. He was no more understanding of Jellico, losing his ship and falling under the mind control of the Malkatan invaders, than he had been of himself months ago when he was abducted by the Borg and used as a pawn of destruction.

"Lucky for him his wounds-at least the physical ones don't seem so bad," Mary reported. "Not that you seem too concerned," she added squinting up at him, as Jellico began to regain consciousness.

"I certainly hope he lives," Picard said in an emotionless voice as he studied the tactical panel. The stream of plasma electricity that connected the Enterprise to the other eight starships under Malkatan control seemed less powerful than it had been prior to their ambush of the two Malkatans on the bridge. The other factor was Jellico…perhaps when he was released from the beam here on the bridge; it had somehow affected the beam outside in space. He frowned, trying to puzzle through the problem.

Mary was helping Jellico to sit up slowly. She propped him up against the base of the helm. His eyes remained closed so she turned back to Picard. "You know, I think I liked you better before we got back on your ship," she commented.

Picard looked up. "Pardon?"

Mary put her hands on her hips. "Down on Earth you were a real hero, getting into the dirt with everyone else…leading the way. And on the shuttle you declared your love for Beverly—showed some real emotion. But up here…well you're a real tight-ass, has anyone ever told you that?"

Picard made a face. "Actually, _no_. At least, not to my face," he added quickly.

"Not even Beverly?"

Picard pursed his lips. "No…not even Beverly."

"Well, trust me she's thought it," the old woman assured him.

"Now look here—"

"You remind me of my second husband."

"Second?"

"Oh, he was something to look at, but the ego on that man! Well as you can imagine he was compensating for other deficiencies."

"I would rather not imagine what those might be, Mary, thank you," he said dryly.

"Suit yourself." Mary shook her head and returned to aiding the still dazed Captain Jellico.

Picard rolled his eyes now that she was distracted again and typed a code into the computer. It buzzed at him, denying him access again. _Dammit._ "Computer," he called out. "Do you recognize me?" he asked.

"_**You are currently catalogued as an unidentified human male, five feet ten inches tall, one hundred seventy-three pounds—"**_

"_Thank you_, Computer. You may now substitute this profile for that of Captain Jean-Luc Picard."

The computer paused and he could feel Mary once again staring at him, this time with open amusement. **"**_**You are requesting to utilize the security profile of **__**Captain Jean-Luc Picard, commanding officer of the USS Stargazer NCC-2893 Constellation Class Star Cruiser reported missing in action in 2355 and presumed killed the same year at age thirty-seven years, six months, thirteen days**_**."**

Picard took a deep breath, trying to access some degree of patience. "Yes," he said tightly.

"_**Please place your palm on the nearest console. Accessing…accessing… acknowledged, Captain Picard. Welcome aboard."**_

"Thank you," he said. He quickly began to input data again, and was beginning to see a pattern in the energy fields tethering the ships together. And then the console buzzed at him again. He slammed his hand on the console. "Why—what is it now?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"_**Security access denied."**_

He angrily punched in an alternate code. _**"Access denied. The security profile you are attempting to use expired in 2355. Please contact Starfleet Security to update your security profile,"**_ the computer informed him calmly. Picard spun and walked away in the opposite direction.

Walking to the wall, he tapped at the communications console. "Progress Mr. Worf?"

"_Yes, sir…I believe your idea will work…in theory. However we will not be able to test it for obvious reasons as we only have one of these weapons to fire."_

Picard smiled. "That's fine, Worf. Good work. Please return to the bridge when you're finished."

"_Aye sir."_

When he turned back around, he made eye contact with Mary. "Now was that really necessary? Making sure the ship's computer knows who you are?"

"Yes, of course it was necessary," he snapped.

"Are you sure it wasn't your ego getting in the way again, son? You can't stand that your beloved ship doesn't love you back, is that it?"

"No that is **not** _it_! And can't you see that I am trying to work here?"

She snorted. "Son, if you think _I'm_ distracting, just wait until your kids are running all over this bridge, asking to be picked up while you are trying to map a star system, or whatever it is you usually do on these ships, when you're not fighting Malkatans."

Picard went pale. "Kids?"

"Oh… I understand you think you're just having one baby. That's how it _always_ starts," she said. "But before you know it, Captain you are going to be changing one baby's diapers while your two year old bangs you on the knee with a rattle, over and over…believe it, that kid can just keep going forever."

"Don't be silly," said Picard, but he could feel a stress headache coming on.

"Once you're married, now that is when the real fun starts. If you or Beverly want advice son, just ask me. I've been through it five times."

Jean-Luc let his arms drop to his sides. "Marriage?" He stared at her. Would Beverly even want to be married to him? He hadn't even considered it. He had been so busy with planning on how to overcome the Malkatans and also manage to find Beverly that he had hardly considered what would happen once the baby was born, much less anything after that. Perhaps it was understandable since he continued to phase and his life seemed always to hang in the balance.

In addition, the more time he spent with Mary the more he wondered how she had convinced someone to marry her, not just once but five times. He remembered the popcorn. He should have known when she pulled out the bag of popcorn and when she made instant friends with Data's hell cat, that she was trouble. But suddenly he was snapped out of his pre-parental anxiety by the groans of Captain Jellico.

Picard left his station and walked toward Mary and her now waking patient. Suddenly Jellico's eyes snapped open and looked at him unfocused. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing on my ship?" Captain Jellico demanded groggily.

* * *

**Please go on to the next chapter which is now posted...thanks for reading**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Ten minutes later after arguing with Jellico and enduring Mary's many interruptions, concerning various topics such as how he could possibly be the real Captain Picard who had disappeared at Maxia twelve years earlier, or who should be in charge of the _Enterprise_ now given their equal ranks, Picard decided he had better things to do and he turned on his heel and went into Captain Jellico's ready room; much to Jellico's annoyance.

As he seated himself at Jellico's desk, he took a deep breath. His last message to Beverly had been sent from the run down shuttle when he was still on Earth. By now, he hoped she had reunited with Riker and was safe on board the _Aldrin_. Had she received his message? He'd sent it on a loop just in case the connection was cut. He didn't mind that she hadn't returned his call yet. Of course they had both been so busy.

He was relieved to be able to find the _Aldrin_ and establish a subspace link right away because the ship wasn't moving. He frowned, wondering why they were still located in the Maxia system. The link-up took a moment and then a good looking chocolate skinned man appeared on the small view screen. He was looking down into the screen apparently from a command chair on a well-lit bridge.

"_Enterprise_?" the man said, clearly surprised to be receiving a message from Earth.

"Yes…this is Captain Picard."

To Picard's surprise the man got up from his seat. "Sir, Commander Patrick Obi here, acting Captain of the _USS Aldrin_. It's an honor to meet you, Captain Picard."

Picard smiled. "Likewise, Commander. Ah…but you did say _acting _Captain. Captain Riker is well I hope?"

Obi gave him a half smile and muttered something to someone next to him off screen. He nodded at the person. "He is sir," Obi said, turning back to the screen to face Picard. "But I have someone here you are more familiar with, Captain. Perhaps she can better explain the situation to you. I will send your transmission directly to the ready room, and she'll take it in there."

"Thank you," said Picard. He held his breath until the screen flickered again and a new face appeared. But it was Deanna, not Beverly.

* * *

Picard felt his heart do a flip of sorts. Where was Beverly. "Counselor," he said. "It has been too long," he said still extremely pleased to see this wonderful woman.

"Much too long, Captain," she agreed with a wide smile. "But you were hoping to see Beverly."  
"Oh," he said, trying to remain casual and professional at the same time. "Oh it's quite alright, Counselor."

Deanna's smile remained, but there was something in her eyes that made his heart stop doing flips and drop.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "I trust that the baby is alright…."

"Captain, there have been developments recently which required Beverly and Will to travel again into the past."

He reached his hand out to take hold of a tricorder on the desk, and he watched his own knuckles turn pale as his grip tightened around it. "What? What kind of developments?"

She hesitated. "Jean-Luc…Bok found out that you had reappeared on Earth and he re-entered the past to…to kill your former self. And so—"

"No!" He picked up the tricorder and smashed it into two pieces on the desk as he stood to his feet. "Counselor Troi I _demand_ to know how you could permit Beverly to do such a thing. You are her friend. You know that she is pregnant, and how could you—how could you…how could _she_ do such a thing?" He stared into the screen and then pushed his chair back violently and covered his face with his hands. He turned away from her and for the first time since she had known him she believed that he might cry. He sat like that for half a minute while she watched with empathy, saying nothing. But then eventually he turned back to her having composed himself, somehow having pushed any sign of tears back inside. It was an amazing show of control that perhaps was more sad than an outpouring of emotion would have been. "Forgive me, Counselor."

Deanna smiled gently. "On the contrary, Captain, please forgive me. Perhaps you are right and I should have done more to stop her from going."

Picard shook his head, obviously still outraged, but again he kept it under control, just on the edge. "No, if there is one thing I know about Beverly Crusher it is that she makes her own decisions. She does what she believes is right. But somehow she's forgotten in this instance that what is right could very well kill her. And our child."

"Captain I—"

"No Troi, I have to go," he said. "I have business here on Earth. But I will rendezvous with the _Aldrin_ in 24 hours. If Beverly returns before then please ask her to contact me."

Deanna had barely nodded her assent before Picard cut the connection and the screen went blank. "I will say a prayer for the souls of any Malkatans he encounters today," she said quietly.

* * *

**The**_** Aldrin**_

"How are you doing, Wes?"

Wesley Crusher glanced up to see Geordi standing in the doorway of the nearly deserted mess hall. He shrugged and then looked back down at his uneaten plate of food.

"Want to help us put Humpty Dumpty back together again? Might cheer you up…." Geordi attempted to sound as cheery as possible, but in truth he was exhausted. Data had successfully deactivated CASU's auto self-destruct mechanism but now they had to reprogram the robot and they still had so much work ahead of them.

Wesley looked up at his friend with distracted irritation. "Humpty Dumpty?"

Geordi sighed inwardly. He had hoped this might be easier, but he could see that Wesley was really down. He couldn't blame the kid. _First_, thought Geordi to himself, _we lose the Enterprise just months ago… Captain Picard disappears without a trace…then Wesley receives a creepy visit from his old friend the Traveler while catching up on some late night studying…then he comes out here to try and bring back the Capt_ain, _only to be left behind and confused by the Traveler…then his mom gets pregnant after visiting Captain Picard in the past, the same Picard who we're now trying to save again for fear that his disappearance from 2355 will mean he would be gone forever…and again Wesley has been left behind. _So yeah, Geordi supposed the kid might be slightly depressed.

"By Humpty Dumpty I meant CASU," said Geordi, walking over to the table. "We found it deactivated in Dr. Mayer's quarters. Looks like she de-programmed it completely. And Data had to disarm a self-destruct program. We aren't sure if she shut it down because she thought she might die preventing Captain Riker from saving Captain Picard…or maybe she just didn't want CASU to intervene, but somehow she believes she won't exist in the old timeline—I mean the one we _used_ to live in." He sighed. "You know this whole timeline thing is confusing as hell. I'm starting to wonder which one any of us belong in."

Wesley was still staring at the tabletop as though transfixed.

"Wes?" Geordi had seen his young friend like this before; when he was trying to work out a problem that no one else could possibly figure out.

"We're caught in a continuous loop," Wesley said as though speaking to someone in his head.

LaForge nodded. "I know, it sure seems like it, doesn't it?"

Wesley looked up at him and his eyes looked a little clearer. "No, I'm serious Geordi…we're in a continuous loop. Nothing we do to save the Captain is working, because the outcome will always be the same…eventually he'll disappear and the Malkatans will still be here." He got up from his seat angrily. "My Mom went back in time for nothing, Geordi. And she and the baby could die!"

"Look, buddy, I _know_ you're having a hard time with this, but—"

"Geordi…we have to find the exact point in time when everything got messed up. That is the _only_ way to ensure that the timeline is corrected and everything goes back to normal."

Geordi raised his eyebrows. "Is it just as simple as preventing Bok from traveling into the past and meeting the Malkatans in the first place? I mean, do we just have to find a way to make sure that the Picard maneuver happens no matter what?"

"That's what I thought at first," said Wesley, sounding extremely frustrated. "But what's to stop Bok from finding some other way to travel to the past and kill the Captain? Even if we found a way to make sure that Captain Picard can defeat the Ferengi ship that attacked the Stargazer in 2355—even if everything happens like it's supposed to, the motivation for Bok's vengeance will still be there, and he's so crazy he would try something like this again. There has to be more to this Geordi…I just know it."

Geordi stood there somewhat uncomfortably. He wasn't a counselor, but he knew Wesley and knew he was reasoning through the situation, and that doing so was helping open up his mind. So he just listened.

"You know the worst thing about it, Geordi? I keep wondering what will happen to the baby. If the timeline changes will my little sister or brother still be around? I couldn't live with myself if I was to cause something like that to happen. How could I face Mom?"

LaForge put a reassuring hand on Wesley's shoulder. "You keep thinking about the problem, Wes. But try to remember this isn't just your responsibility to figure this out. We're all in this together."

Wesley nodded and looked at his friend. "I know."

LaForge attempted an encouraging smile. "So, while you ponder the mysteries of time and space, we're reprogramming CASU—"

"For what reason?" Wes asked. There was a tone to his voice and a seriousness in his expression that challenged Geordi to state a real purpose for his project, not just to provide a clever way to distract Wesley for a few hours.

"Data thinks-and I agree, that we've retrieved enough of the neutralizer data from the runabout's files to re-create one. But more interestingly, we'd like to try and fuse the neutralizer technology with CASU's programming."

Wesley looked surprised but intrigued. "CASU is able to fly, right?"

"Sure, and it can deploy weapons as well. So what would you say if we had a neutralizer that could fly, take direction from us remotely and could even attack a Malkatan convoy using the neutralizer to make the enemy's weapons obsolete?"

"I'd say that would be pretty bad-ass," conceded Wesley with a slow grin.

"You know that's exactly what I said to Data, and he just looked at me."

* * *

**2355 Maxia**

"Drop the weapons and put your hands up slowly," said a high pitched voice behind them. Apparently the universal translator built into his combadge couldn't make voices sound more attractive.

Riker sighed and glanced behind him before complying. _Shit. _There were six Ferengi, well-armed. Well, at least they had made it up to the bridge. The one with the girlish voice shoved a disruptor in his back and then pushed Beverly. "Easy!" Riker protested. He dropped his phaser and nodded for Beverly to do the same.

"By the gods of profit, they are hideous," said one of the Ferengi.

"And huge too. What are they?" asked another.

"Is this a female?" said one, fingering a strand of Beverly's hair. "Why does she wear clothing? How perverted!"

The leader eyed Kad, moving around to the front and noting the restraints that bound Kad to Riker. "And who are you, you little piece of tree dwelling scree dung?"

"Kad he knows you _so_ well," Riker murmured.

Kad pointed up at Riker with his free hand. "_He_ is an evil hairy giant of an alien who has taken me prisoner, and this female is of the most brazen type. Not only is she also a giant, but she is constantly insulting me, and as you can see, she wears clothing—have you ever seen such depravity? I demand that you shoot them at once!"

The lead Ferengi sneered. "I asked you who you are, not for the long version of your life story! Now I know for a fact that you don't belong on board this ship, Ferengi or no. And I can assure you that we will shoot these aliens, and you as well unless Brom can make a profit by keeping you around."

"Take us to Brom," Beverly said suddenly. She had been quietly sizing up the situation. "We have a proposition for him. Very profitable," she added casually.

Kad sputtered next to her, but the lead Ferengi slapped him across the face. "You stain the name of your clan by falling in league with these creatures," he mocked Kad. "My name is Bero," he said looking at Beverly. "Where I come from females do not involve themselves in profitable endeavors, because they are too stupid to do so. But I can see that your alien ways will make you of interest to my commander. So yes…we will go and see Brom."

* * *

The bridge of Brom's ship was a flurry of activity as they were pushed onto it. For the moment the unexpected visitors went unnoticed, because all eyes were on the front view screen.

Riker and Beverly watched with barely contained agitation as the view screen filled with a grey and battered looking Starfleet vessel, equipped with four nacelles.

Riker, despite their predicament, broke into a broad grin. "I can't believe I am here and seeing this in person," he said, looking over at Beverly. But his smile faded as he saw that her eyes while also fixed on the view screen were filled with tears. Of course she had seen the _Stargazer_ many times before Bok had brought it back to the Enterprise three years ago. She had seen it, set foot on it; even lived on it for a time. But this was an entirely new and disturbing scenario.

"Heading?" Brom demanded.

"They're headed directly for us on an intercept course," his weapons master reported.

"Raise our shields. And when they get in range, fire at will," Brom said waving his hand lazily.

"No!" Beverly suddenly shouted. All eyes turned to regard her. Brom nearly fell out of his chair, but Bok's reaction at seeing not only Beverly but Kad, sent him over the edge.

"Kill them!" he screamed, rushing them, but Bero stepped in front of the visitors leveling his disruptor at Bok's chest.

"Not yet," said Bero. "Not until we hear what deal they are offering," he said. "Now sit back down."

Suddenly the ship shook violently. "They are firing on us!"

"An unprovoked attack!" Bok shouted. "Now you see your noble Picard in action!" Bok yelled at Riker and Beverly as though now vindicated. Riker grabbed Beverly, supporting her and they quickly made their way to a place to sit. They gripped the railing, still fixated on the events unfolding on the screen.

"Fire!" screamed Brom.

"They increased speed and then slowed, sir," said the weapons master.

"What is he doing? Are they retreating?" Brom asked no one in particular.

The stargazer had slowed, and suddenly spun 180 degrees in a peculiar move so that the nacelles were now pointing toward them.

Shouts erupted on the bridge. "They are escaping!"

"It's from right out of one of my Academy textbooks," Riker murmured, now gaping at the screen. _Uh oh. _The starship which had hesitated, suddenly put on a burst of speed, flying backwards, now firing from its aft phaser banks at them. The ship shook again.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Brom and Bok screamed at the same time.

"Get out of his way, Picard is a lunatic," Brom shouted, as the _Stargazer_ shot overhead, just clearing the hull of the Ferengi marauder.

"He's coming around for another pass."

Riker gripped Beverly's hand and he saw she had shut her eyes and was biting her bottom lip. _We're on the wrong damn ship, _he thought just before things got much worse.

* * *

**Hi there...thanks for reading and reviewing! Who knows what will happen next? Take care -PP**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

**On Board the Ferengi Marauder - Maxia**

Riker suddenly leapt to his feet and ran up behind the Ferengi posted at the helm. He could just feel the hands holding disruptors swing his way, but he didn't care. "What is the matter with you, don't you know how to fly this thing?" he demanded, laying a heavy hand on the nervous pilot's shoulder. "Get out of my way if you want to live," he shouted when the Ferengi growled at him in response. But very quickly the young officer's eyes seemed to register that he understood, and he allowed Riker to push him away without too much resistance.

Riker sat down quickly, and was immediately reminded that he'd never actually flown a Ferengi ship. Thankfully the controls appeared translatable. He set a course of retreat, hoping that Captain Picard, being the reasonable man that he was would decide to call off his attack. But then again…he had fired first.

"What is that alien doing?" yelled Brom. "Get him away from the controls!" Armed officers ran toward Riker, but Beverly suddenly stood in their way and turned to Brom.

"He _trying_ to save all of our lives," she asserted as the ship rolled under her feet and she grabbed for a railing. "Can't you see he's going to kill us all?" Her eyes returned to the view screen with a silent plea. _Please Jean Luc, don't kill us all..._

* * *

**The _Stargazer_**

"Captain," shouted Zev, as the bridge was struck directly by a plasma torpedo, "our shields are failing sir. They have a weapon that appears to be able to sap our shield strength."

Picard didn't turn around from the helm controls even as his nose filled with the smoke that began to billow from overhead. He coughed. Battle was challenging enough, but with only three crew members there was so little margin for error. "Put out that fire first and then attend to the shields," he ordered her sharply.

A few moments later he heard her using the fire suppressant spray at the back of the bridge.

"Vigo, target the stern of that ship, let's slow it down," he barked.

"Aye sir, firing!"

* * *

Beverly felt her stomach drop when she saw a blast from their ship strike the top of the _Stargazer_ and a burst of red showed an explosion. Jean-Luc was on that bridge. Was he injured?

The Ferengi bridge erupted in cheers.

"We have scored a direct hit to their bridge! Their shields have been severely compromised," Bero shouted triumphantly patting the weapons master on the back. "It is only a matter of time now until our names are written into the history books..."

"There are a hell of a lot of dead people in history books," Beverly reminded him and then staggered as a blast shook the ship.  
A second later the ship shook again more violently this time and Beverly struggled to stay upright as she made her way toward Brom's command chair. She had simply had enough of this.  
"What is that female doing?" a suspicious officer asked pointing his weapon toward Beverly as she walked past him.

"Ignore her!" Bero screamed. "Attend to your duties, she does not matter."

The ship shook again. "Daimon, they've struck us from behind….and our aft propulsion cylinder has been damaged by their fire," reported the weapons master.

"He really slowed us down with that one," Riker shouted trying to maneuver the ship away from the Stargazer which was now barreling toward them at a high rate of speed. "And I've lost some control over pitch here," he added, now sweating bullets. If he had ever imagined what it might be like to meet Picard in his prime, this particular scenario had never really crossed his mind.

Beverly grabbed the arms of Brom's command chair and swung him around roughly to face her. "You _need_ to surrender... _now_!"

Brom seemed frozen and his eyes bulged up at her.

Kad rushed over to interfere. "Don't listen to her, she is in league with Picard," Kad screamed into Brom's other ear.

"He's a madman," Brom whispered pointing at the screen.

"_You_ made him that way!" she replied. "And especially you..." She glared at Kad accusingly and then turned back to Brom still gripping his chair. "Look, I _am_ in league with him...I understand the way his mind works; at least I did until you both saw to it that he was captured and abused."

She took a deep breath and attempted to not let her emotions get the best of her. "And that's why I know that the _only_ way to get through to him now and call this whole thing off is for you to surrender. He'll understand that and he will stop trying to kill us. He's a good man…he's not a bully."

Brom's eyes bulged slightly less, but still he hesitated. His assistant Bero was now at his side glaring at Beverly skeptically. "Was _that _supposed to be the deal you were offering?"

Beverly glanced at Bero. The truth was when she had gotten them on the bridge and closer to Brom by saying she had a proposition for him, she had only been thinking on her feet. And she certainly hadn't had any real deal in mind. "What is more profitable than escaping with your lives?" she asked them in a measured voice.

Bero grinned. "Well…I hardly think that we are finished yet-"

"Daimon! The attacking ship has disappeared!"

Beverly whirled to look at the view screen, and saw with horror and confusion that only the stars and the blackness in between them were now visible.

* * *

Having extinguished the fire on the bridge, Zev had returned to her station and skillfully began monitoring and repairing the ship's systems to the best of her abilities. "Captain, I've boosted shield strength somewhat, but if we sustain another hit to the top of our bridge, quite simply the three of us will be dead."

Picard turned his head slightly to the side to look at his first officer. She was covered in soot and looked exhausted, but she carried on. And for what? But then an image of General Unh's mocking and sadistic features played through his mind and he grew determined again.

"We're not going to die," he promised. "At least not yet." The Ferengi vessel appeared to be retreating, but surely the enemy now knew the Stargazer's weaknesses. And they would target those, whether on the run or not. He also noted with some concern that the Ferengi pilot seemed to have improved his skills considerably within the last minutes. No matter… if the top of the ship was compromised there were ways to protect it.

"They're targeting the bridge again!"

"Everyone hang on," he warned them. He threw the ship into stomach-turning spin, bringing it upside down and then gave it a burst of speed sending the ship underneath the belly of the Ferengi vessel. "Fire all weapons," he shouted back at Vigo.

* * *

It turned out that the _Stargazer_ hadn't actually disappeared—instead it had simply flown beneath Brom's marauder. "Daimon they're underneath us, strafing our underbelly!" The marauder shook and there was a frightening creaking sound emanating from the ship's hull. Beverly decided at this point that she was just better off sitting down on the deck. She glanced over at Riker who looked pale and worn out. She turned her attention back to the view screen and saw the Stargazer shoot out from underneath them, weapons still firing, and _upside down_. She looked at Will again and this time they made eye contact. If they didn't either stop this now or get off the ship it was clear they would perish.

"Our engineer is reporting an inner hull breach and our propulsion systems have been shocked. We won't have full power for another hour, Daimon," Bero said, finally beginning to sound as if he was willing to admit defeat.

Riker stood up. "Enough of this, Brom! We're dead in the water."

Beverly got to her feet and put her hand on the back of Brom's chair. Her other hand shook as she brought it up to her face and she watched the Stargazer shoot away and turn upright again. _Jean-Luc, what are you doing? _Tears flooded her eyes and she looked down at Brom. "Can't you see we're out of options?"

Brom stood up. "Extend the neck. Show them that we intend to surrender."

"But Daimon," Kad interjected.

"Do it!" Brom shouted. Riker walked forward. From his minimal experience with the Ferengi he knew that to "extend the neck" meant that the Ferengi were exposing the weak areas of the ship, by literally and mechanically extending the forward nose of the ship. But it also looked quite menacing from an outsider's point of view. Young Jean-Luc Picard had no frame of reference and therefore, might take it the wrong way.

"That's not going to be enough, Brom," he said. "You're going to have to hail him and signal your surrender."

Brom nodded to Bero, who reluctantly moved to the communications station and began typing.

* * *

"Captain," announced Zev. "The Ferengi are signaling their surrender. The message states: **'Daimon Brom humbly requests that our two mighty vessels now share in the acquisition of peace with deliberate calculation for the mutual benefit of our material wealth'**."

"Huh? I don't even know what the hell that means," Picard responded gruffly. But he allowed his back muscles to relax somewhat at the ship's controls. He pondered their situation. They might have a slight tactical advantage at this point, but there was no telling how long that would last. The Ferengi's armaments seemed slightly superior, and their technology was at least equal to theirs by the looks of it. At best they had a stalemate.

"Captain, you can't possibly be considering surrender," Vigo exclaimed from tactical. "They are crippled. We should strike again!"

Picard let his hands drop from the console, but he didn't turn back to look at Vigo. He closed his eyes and a voice rang in his head. _"We will be together again like this in the future, Jean-Luc…I promise you." _ He had something to live for, even if she rejected him, if only he could just see her again. And when he saw her, how could he face her knowing that he had destroyed the ship hanging in front of him? He was better than that. He was still capable of showing mercy.

He opened his eyes again. "Since when do we destroy defenseless ships, Vigo?" he said. "Zev, signal our acceptance of their surrender. Tell them that any further acts of aggression against Starfleet personnel will be considered an act of war." he said.

"Aye sir," Zev answered, sending the transmission quickly.

"No!" Vigo shouted. "Not after what they did to our people. They are responsible for the deaths of our comrades!"

Picard took a deep breath, still staring at his helm console. "No, Vigo…the Malkatans are responsible. We cannot continue to destroy everything in our path motivated by blind vengeance. When will the killing stop?"

"Traitor!" Vigo suddenly screamed, leaping over the railing and rushing Picard.

"Captain!" Zev tried to warn him, but Vigo was on him so swiftly, bringing one arm around Picard's neck in a choke hold. The Captain brought his arm back to try and rake at Vigo's eyes; Vigo squeezed and with his other hand brought a sharp knife to Picard's neck. Picard whipped his hand out and grabbed Vigo's wrist trying with all of his might to push Vigo's arm away from his throat. But Vigo was in a superior position, and he had leverage as he crouched behind the seated Picard. Vigo pointed the knife inward as trembling limbs strained against one another.

Picard choked and tried to lower his chin, narrowing the target for Vigo. His vision was growing hazy as he felt the cool blade begin to sink into his neck. And then abruptly he was released, and fell forward, gasping and clutching his neck.

He fell to the deck and turned expecting Vigo to pounce. Instead he saw Zev standing above a fallen Vigo. She had slammed him with the handle of her phaser, saving Picard's life and knocking Vigo cold.

Picard staggered to his feet, lightheaded, and brought his palm to his neck.

"Captain…are you alright?" Zev asked, noting that his neck was covered in blood, but the cut wasn't too deep. Thankfully…because a little to the left and the Captain would have been dead.

Picard wiped at the blood on his neck and nodded. "Beam him to the brig. I can't look at him anymore," he coughed, barely able to speak.

"Yes sir," she said, moving away to comply with his order.

* * *

"The enemy ship is transmitting their agreement with our surrender," Bero reported from a communications station.

Beverly laughed with giddy relief and embraced Will, who was just as relieved at this turn of events as she was. But as she let go of him she looked around the marauder bridge, and her heart suddenly grew cold. _Where was he?_ In all of the commotion they had lost track of Bok. "Where's Bok?" Beverly demanded out loud.

Riker's expression mirrored her own renewed fears. He looked at Bero questioningly, who shrugged, but then checked the computer sensors. "Bok isn't on this ship anymore," he confirmed, glancing up at Riker.

Riker was operating completely out of desperation at this point. He swiftly snapped his handcuffs back on Kad's wrist; grabbed Bero's disruptor from his holster and pointed it at Brom's head. "We're going over to that ship, and we're taking Daimon Brom with us," he said quickly. "Once we know Picard is alright, we'll beam the Daimon back over." He glared at Bero, who glared back at him. "Beam us over, Bero. _Now!"_

* * *

As he stood there applying pressure to the cut on his neck, and his bruised trachea, Picard looked up in surprise as the doors to the bridge hissed open. There stood a Ferengi. By this point, Jean-Luc had only seen one Ferengi in person. There was Kad…whom he had seen down on the Malkatan base, just before he'd been shot—and then there was the hazy memory of a Ferengi who had been talking to General Unh on the view screen.

Was this the same individual? Still, beyond his dim and unreliable memories, the Ferengi was unfamiliar to him personally, and yet the alien seemed to know Picard very well. And judging by the disruptor now leveled at Picard's chest as he walked in, this Ferengi didn't think of Picard in a friendly way. But that was fine, because Picard wasn't in a friendly mood either.

"So, Captain Picard, we meet again…and for the last time," said Bok.

* * *

**Hi, thanks for continuing to follow this story. Please stay tuned for more to come... -PP**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

"Go!" Riker ordered, prodding Brom forward and dragging Kad along by the wrist restraints as he and Beverly rushed toward the bridge of the _Stargazer_. Bero hadn't beamed them directly to the bridge, perhaps on purpose, or perhaps because he hadn't known any better.

Riker had trouble navigating the dark corridors, but at one crucial point, Beverly had exclaimed "over there!" and had pointed to a turbo lift. Her memory of this old ship had steered them in the right direction, and they drew ever closer to their goal. Silently they both hoped that they would not be too late, as Bok had a considerable head start.

"You had no right to kidnap me from my ship," Brom protested.

"Did you think when you helped Bok and Kad trap the _Stargazer_ that you would simply get away with it?" Beverly demanded.

"I told you, I had no idea who Picard was, or why my father was so obsessed with him," Brom answered sullenly.

"Oh yes, you did," Kad heckled him. "Don't believe him!"

"Shut up, you filthy swamp weasel," Brom snarled. "Just wait until the future, when I see to it that you pay for your betrayal."

"Which betrayal? You've got more than one to choose from," said Beverly, trying to distract herself from the nervous thrumming of her heart as they rushed to locate Jean-Luc. She didn't know what she would do if Bok had harmed him.

"Betra_yals_ then!" Brom clarified.

"It's my pleasure to inform you both," said Riker. "That the future's just been changed-again. We all changed it. So my hope is that you both end up penniless in the future, since that's apparently the only kind of punishment that would ever matter to you."

* * *

The Ferengi continued to stand there glaring at him. "You say we've met before," said Jean-Luc, still pressing his palm to his throat. "Where?" His voice had already gone hoarse from Vigo's attack, and swallowing was pure agony. But although it now seemed he was far from being out of danger, he felt oddly calm.

Picard glanced over at Zev who had her phaser pointed at the intruder. He nodded for her to lower it, and although her eyes flashed with anger, she complied, but did not let go of the weapon, just dropped her hand. Bok seemed focused like a laser on Picard, and didn't seem concerned about Zev in the slightest.

"I am Bok. And you are responsible for _great_ crimes against me, Picard. And now I will see you beg for your life."

_Bok?_ That voice came back to him in that moment… _The deal was that you would kill Picard._ Yes! The Ferengi on the view screen, conversing with General Unh down on the Malkatan base.

Picard dropped his hand from his neck loosely, and noticed Bok flinch ever so slightly. "Oh is that so?" he asked, his voice calm, measured. He had been at the mercy of this Ferengi before. But not again. _Never_ again. "And what crimes might those be?" Picard asked, beginning to walk slowly toward Bok.

"It was in another time and place," Bok sputtered. "But I have seen to it that you will pay!"

Zev watched with muted alarm as Picard approached unarmed from the lower level, walking slowly up to Bok's level, one step at a time. She gripped her phaser tighter, but would obey the Captain's order until he seemed at greater risk. Still she wished that he would not put himself in harm's way. Surely between the two of them they could overtake this Ferengi.

"But…if I committed these crimes, then why don't I remember having done so?" Picard asked curiously. Mounting the stairs, he stopped just out of the reach of Bok's disruptor barrel.

Bok shifted his feet, but kept the gun pointed at Picard's chest. "I do not recommend that you step any closer to me, Picard," Bok said with a nasty smile.

Picard stood still, watching Bok for a moment, but then tilted his head. "Or what? You'll shoot me? Well isn't that why you've come here to my ship? Why don't you try?"

Bok blinked. "You are very strange, Picard. Perhaps you do not comprehend the gravity of your predicament."

"Oh, I think I do," he answered, taking another step forward. "Mr. Bok…do you know how long it has been since I've slept?" Picard asked him quietly. "Five days," he offered, when Bok remained silent. "You see, I am being kept awake by nightmares of my crew being slaughtered. And I may never sleep well again."

He walked even closer, and Bok's gaze dropped briefly to his disruptor and then back up at Picard. "That doesn't come as any surprise to you does it? Was that part of your revenge? Destroying my crew?"

Bok's eyes glinted. "Then you know who I am after all...good."

Picard smiled coldly. "But I haven't given you the reaction you wanted, have I, Bok? I'm not groveling for my life yet."

"At least you know me," said Bok. "You will understand that it is I who has beaten you," he jeered.

"I know your type," answered Jean Luc. "I know that you are the type to lure an unsuspecting ship into a trap, and to allow others to do your dirty work for you. But you're not the type to kill me yourself. In fact, I can tell just looking at you that you don't have the stomach for it."

"Picard, you underestimate me!"

Jean-Luc walked closer until the barrel of the disrupter was pressed into his chest. He deliberately leaned in toward Bok, challenging the Ferengi to hold his ground. He pointed to his neck. "You see this?"

Bok looked at Picard's neck covered in mottled bruises and blood, but said nothing.

"A man who used to be my friend did this to me," he said, and his voice was barely a whisper. "So do you think I am actually afraid of anything you could possibly do to me? You see I'm very tired of these games you have been playing with me and my crew for weeks. Very tired indeed."

His hand slowly closed around the barrel of the gun. "I think your chance to kill me has passed, don't you Bok? I am holding your weapon and I'm within arm's length of you. I am bigger and stronger than you and I would bet that I can overpower you."

Bok shook his head viciously from side to side. "But I am quicker and my finger is on the trigger."

Picard laughed suddenly, and Bok blinked, apparently not expecting such an utterance from this disturbed human. Clearly the Malkatans had done permanent damage to this human's psyche.

Jean-Luc abruptly let go of the gun and turned around, facing away from Bok and Zev. "I'm going to give you thirty seconds, Bok," he said quietly. "Thirty seconds to call your ship and have them beam you off of my bridge," he said turning back around to look at Bok.

Bok was still pointing his weapon, but his hand was shaking wildly as though it had grown too heavy. This burden of chasing Picard _had _become very heavy.

"I will not leave, until I see you pay, Picard-"

"_Twenty_ seconds," Zev interrupted, apparently having decided that someone needed to keep count.

"What are you going to do when your thirty seconds is up, Picard? I have the weapon, therefore I have the advantage!"

Picard stood looking at his enemy almost placidly, but said nothing. At his side, his hand flexed into a fist and then loosened again.

"_Five_ seconds," Zev said, and there was a mocking tone to her proud voice as she watched Bok.

Furious, Bok swung the disruptor in her direction looking away from Picard for the first time. Picard grasped Bok's wrist and bent it at an unnatural angle, forcing a pained cry from the Ferengi and causing him to drop the gun to the deck with a clatter. In a second smooth movement, Picard hauled off and punched Bok in the face as hard as he could. The Ferengi immediately crumpled to the deck unconscious. Picard straightened, still looking down at Bok. He shook his stinging hand once. "Time's up," he said softly.

* * *

Suddenly filled with a deep exhaustion, Picard had started to walk away from Zev and back toward the command center, when there was a commotion at the turbo lift. Four individuals shoved their way onto the bridge, and then the narrow world that was his bridge slowed down. Two Ferengi prisoners and two humans; a tall man with a beard and dark hair, and….

"Jean-Luc!" He heard his own name spill from her lips, and then he felt a wave of vertigo pass over him. His vision went grey.

Zev slowly lowered her phaser in astonishment even as Riker held his hands up letting her know he wasn't a threat. But Zev wasn't looking at Riker. "Beverly Crusher…gods it was true all along," her voice caught in her throat with emotion and she put a hand to her chest.

Zev was still pointing at Beverly with growing euphoria as she looked over at the Captain for his reaction. Zev watched as he fell to his knees, and the upper half of his body swayed as his eyes began to roll back in his head. His mouth moved but no words came out. Jean-Luc brought his hands up in an attempt to cover his face, and then he collapsed face first and unconscious.

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks so much for your reviews. It means a lot. Thanks! -PP**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

* * *

**2367 Eight months ago…**

It was 3 a.m. Wesley hadn't been able to sleep, so he'd gone to Ten Forward. His mother had come home to fall into bed in her room less than an hour before. They had both been awake and yet had been too tired to talk. He now regretted not having tried; the chances to connect with her were so few and far between. It seemed like it had been days since they had truly had a chance to talk to each other. In fact it _had_ been days.

In the less than two weeks since Captain Picard had been recaptured from the Borg, Wesley's mother had almost never left her post. Of course she had been in sick bay, with her surgical staff spending seemingly endless hours in surgery painstakingly removing implants from the Captain's body. The process was clearly wearing on her-and it would have been this way even if she had not cared so much about her patient.

Thanks to a brief few moments of venting from his mother this evening, Wesley had learned that earlier in the day the Captain had actually gotten into an argument with a nurse who was merely trying to prepare him for surgery to remove the final implants from his right leg. Eventually, according to his mother, Captain Picard had acquiesced to allowing the nurse to finish prepping him for the surgery, but not after continuing his grumbling.

However, according to his mom, shortly after the procedure was over and while still in recovery, the Captain refused to be physically handled by anyone, openly citing his displeasure at the amount of time each of these procedures were taking. He then announced so that everyone could hear, that all of his necessary parts were now functioning normally; at least well enough to resume bridge duty. Such an outburst was definitely out of character for Picard, which indicated to Wesley how anxious the Captain must be to return to work and also perhaps owing to some very strong anesthesia which had not yet worn off.

"He always has to be in control, and he never abandons hope that I will turn around and he will be able to sneak out of sick bay. He is **_by_** far _the __**worst **_patient I have ever had," his mother had declared before venturing into the bathroom to take a shower. Wesley knew that over the years his mother had anointed more than a few people with the title of "Worst Patient Ever", and he also knew that if she was that annoyed with the Captain it was very likely he really was getting well enough to return to duty. But Wesley was wise enough not to say such a thing.

For his part, Wesley hadn't seen the Captain for days. He simply refused to be seen by anyone other than counselor Troi and the staff in sick bay. Commander Riker had been tight-lipped and protective about the whole thing, calling one single staff meeting in which he confirmed that the Captain's physical and mental recovery would "take time".

Wesley knew it was not fair of him, but he continued to believe that the Captain was as impervious to harm as he had always been. It was an easy view to hold, because he hadn't seen the Captain enough to think differently. But Wesley, like everyone else now knew exactly what had happened to the Captain on the Borg ship. Soon he would return to full duty on the bridge, and things would return to the way they had been before the Borg's barely thwarted invasion. At least, that is what Wesley hoped would happen.

* * *

Wesley stopped short just inside Ten Forward. The three dimensional chess set was sitting on one of the tables closest to the view port. All of the pieces were in place. He knew Guinan had left the game for him in an unspoken pact they shared. She knew that when Wesley had insomnia playing chess was sometimes what helped his mind work itself through whatever the distraction was until he was ready to drift off to sleep. Guinan wasn't around, but his eyes locked on a familiar figure standing next to the table, staring fixedly out of the viewport at the stars.

Although his hands were draped behind his back almost casually, the man did not move, and his shoulders and posture remained overly stiff, almost as though he were practicing standing as straight as possible. But then, to Wesley it seemed highly unlikely that Captain Picard had ever had to practice being the way he was. Even wearing his hospital pajamas he looked imposing.

Wesley took a step in, and Picard's head tilted slightly, but did not turn to look at the teenager. For a terrifying moment he imagined that if the captain did turn to face him, the red laser of his visual implant would immediately target him. But the horrible implant had been removed, Wesley reminded himself. He had no reason to fear the Captain.

Finally the Captain did turn to look at Wesley. His piercing stare was made just slightly more disconcerting by the oddly shaped dermal repair on one side of his forehead, covering a former implant. Wesley shuddered inwardly, hoping his expression did not show the way he was feeling.

He lifted his chin to regard Wesley coolly as though he were not at all happy to be disturbed from his reverie. "Aren't you scheduled for bridge duty at 0730, Mr. Crusher?"

Wesley stood a little bit straighter. "Yes sir…tomorrow, sir."

"It already _is_ tomorrow, Mr. Crusher," Picard snapped, walking away from the window now. "It is three in the morning." He raised his index finger and pointed it up at the ceiling. But Wesley knew better than to look up, as the Captain was just about to make a point. "Attention to duty requires sleep, Mr. Crusher," the Captain said.

Wesley shrugged. "But _you're_ awake sir," he said and then regretted it.

Picard placed a hand on the back of a chair, and shifted his stance. Had he been limping? Perhaps only a little bit. "And I had assumed you were aware that I am not scheduled for duty, yet…and so my sleeping habits or lack thereof are none of your concern young man."

"Er…yes, sir."

Picard made a face and sat down in a chair at the table with the chess set. "Damn leg," he grumbled, looking down at his right leg which had just begun to twitch oddly. He placed his hand on his thigh, and gradually the twitching ceased. "Damn leg," he said again, looking up at Wesley. "Damn circuitry feels like it's still there," he whispered to himself, and then as if he had just remembered the gawking Wesley was right there, he continued in a louder voice.

"And if your mother has her way, I am beginning to doubt that she will ever clear me for duty. And believe me, it's not because she enjoys my company. I swear she told me yesterday that today would be the last blasted surgery I would have to undergo, and _then_ she said-"

"Maybe she does, sir," Wesley interrupted abruptly. Then to compound his error he shrugged again, as if the point he had interrupted in order to make didn't even matter. Damn, he had to stop doing that.

Picard had rested his chin on the knuckles of his right hand and was gazing at the chess platform. "Hmm? Maybe she does what?" he asked distractedly turning his attention back to the boy.

"Maybe she likes your company sir."

Looking suddenly caught off guard, Picard straightened his hospital pajama top, and leaned back in his chair. He tapped his fingers on his chest and murmured something to himself, but didn't respond right away. Then breaking out of his brief daze he gestured for Wesley to sit down across from him. Picard looked pointedly at the teenager when he hesitated. "_Well? _ Isn't this why you've come here in the early hours of the morning? Do you want to play or not?"

Wesley's mouth hung down loosely. "Uh…sort of. I mean I was going to play against _myself_…."

To Wesley's surprise, Picard let out a short laugh. "Oh, what nonsense. What kind of challenge is that, for a young person of your intellect, Mr. Crusher? _Honestly…_."

Wesley nodded sheepishly and sat down across from the Captain, pulling in his chair.

Picard gestured. "Please…take the first move, Mr. Crusher."

Wesley rubbed his sweaty palms on his pajama pants. He was deathly afraid of being judged. Commander Riker had taught him a great deal about taking risks with his gameplay, but Wesley was still very conservative when it came to using his pawns. So he decided to go big.

Picard's brow creased at Wesley's first move, but he said nothing, instead studying the board. He moved one of his pieces, and then sat back, clearing his throat. "What makes you think that she enjoys my company?" he asked quickly, looking down at his king and queen.

Then he smiled wanly up at Wesley as though gathering some courage. "Most of my conversations with her lately have been while under heavy sedation. And she always has this…this frown as I am coming out of it. I must confess there were a few times I would have liked to just go back under."

Wesley nodded with understanding. "That's her angry concerned look, sir," he said slowly. "I've seen that one too…a lot. My strategy is just to avert my eyes…like this," he said, flicking his eyes to the right. He smiled and then realized that the Captain was still looking at him with an expectant expression.

"Oh…right. Well, she talks about you all the time sir. And sometimes she gets this really weird look on her face, like she's about to laugh but-" He cleared his throat, ready to spill anything that would be the least bit helpful, but Captain Picard suddenly raised his hand.

"That's quite alright, Mr. Crusher," he said looking more mortified than Wesley could have previously imagined. "I didn't mean to pry into your personal conversations with your mother."

"Oh, she doesn't have to know sir—"

"Please, Wesley, let's just carry on with the game, shall we?"

Wesley nodded, tucking his hands between his knees as he scanned the board for his next move. Determined not to let the Captain down, he pulled out a move that he had perfected, while playing Commander Riker. But to Wesley's growing frustration, the Captain remained emotionless as Wesley pulled out three more daring moves on his next three turns.

Unnerved by the silence, Wesley cleared his throat. "Did your dad-I mean your father play chess with you?" He silently cursed himself. Why did he always think of his Dad at moments like this? Why couldn't he just go one meeting with the Captain without raising the subject?

Picard shifted uncomfortably and then cracked his knuckles. "No. My father did not play games. It wasn't in his nature."

"But it's in yours," said Wes.

"I suppose," Picard said simply, then watched Wesley, waiting for him to make a move.

Wesley studied the board and almost yelled out with glee, as he reached his hand out to take the piece, seeing the opening he had been waiting for. He had really been saving up for this one spectacular move….

Picard pursed his lips and sat back in his chair folding his arms over his chest eyeing Wesley as though he'd had enough. "What are you doing?"

Wesley's eyes widened but he said nothing.

Picard leaned forward. "These are Mr. Riker's moves, Wesley, not your own."

"He said I could use them, sir—"

Picard shook his head. "Of course he did, and that is fine. But Wesley, to be a good tactician you must learn to use your own natural skills to your advantage. When you go against your natural tendencies you will fail time and again."

Wesley stared at him. "Really? Sometimes I think if I used my own natural tendencies I might never actually make a move."

Picard chuckled. "You must use that initial hesitancy and find the wisdom in it. Once you have gained more confidence, you will be able to use the innate cautiousness you have within you to dominate other players—even when you are under attack, commanding your own bridge—if you ever decide to command your own ship that is."

Wesley clearly did not believe him. "Really?"

"Mm—hmm. Check." Picard broke into a slow smile, perhaps the first one he had truly experienced in weeks.

_Shit._ While the Captain had been talking, he had also been scoping out Wesley's weak spots. Hurriedly he protected his king from the oncoming advance. He glanced up at the Captain, whose smile had faded. To Wesley's shock Picard reached out and touched Wesley with his index finger right above the boy's heart. "Do you feel that? That flutter in your chest as you struggle to come up with the right decision?" he asked.

Wesley nodded slowly. "That is your true self, Wesley," he said slowly dropping his hand back down to the table. "And that is the key. You must always trust yourself. As long as you always do that, you will never fail."

* * *

It was one of those dreams that felt like a recurring dream but he knew it was actually a memory. The Captain's words drifted back to him: _…that is the key. You must always trust yourself…that is the key. _

Wesley sat up in his bed with a start. He had to find the key…the answer to the puzzle.

* * *

"What do you want, Johanna?" Patrick asked, keeping his voice as distant as possible. "I've got work to do," he reminded her, as he stood outside of the cell block.

Doctor Mayer had composed herself since the last time he had seen her—in sick bay before she had shot a disruptor into a crowd of officers, and then been stunned herself. He clenched his hands behind his back, wishing he could have turned back the hands of time on that whole scene.

Johanna Mayer smoothed her long golden hair away from her face and walked toward the security force field. "Patrick, I never meant for this to happen. I didn't want to hurt Captain Riker…and certainly not you, Patrick."

"So now it's Patrick, is it?" he asked suspiciously through the energy field. "Now that you've shot me we're on a first name basis again."

Doctor Mayer looked down at her hands. "Patrick, I don't think I'm in the wrong timeline anymore. I mean…maybe I am, but I still think I might survive in the one Riker is trying to preserve."

"Oh?" he almost couldn't believe his ears. She'd gone off the deep end and then back again, just like that. A genius scientist who had suddenly cracked up. Why did he always fall for complicated women? "Johanna, you shot a phased weapon into a sickbay full of people…at the Captain, for—"he exhaled loudly in frustration. "You rigged CASU to explode, goddammit! And this is all you have to say for yourself?"

She had a faraway look on her face. "I told you that in my timeline, my father never returned to Earth, because the _Stargazer_ had disappeared—we now know because the Malkatans captured it."

"Right," said Obi, still trying to follow her. "And in the timeline that Captain Riker said is the correct one, the _Stargazer_ was lost in battle, but most of the crew survived." He studied her face. "Your father died on the _Stargazer_ didn't he?"

She nodded. "In the correct timeline, yes." She paced to the back of her cell and then turned to face Obi again. "I had Lt. Commander Data access his own files which are more accurate than anything else we have right now…he looked up the crew manifest and he confirmed that my father, one of the engineers on the Stargazer died in the fire that broke out in engineering during the Battle of Maxia."

Despite everything, Obi was sympathetic. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Doctor."

Johanna sat down on her bunk. "According to Mr. Data, there were no official reports of my father having abused me or making threats to my life in the correct timeline." She paused. "Patrick, after you left my quarters the other day, I looked through some of my own personal files just prior to the _Stargazer's_ disappearance from the altered timeline, and it helped me to remember. I _did_ file an official report against my father after he left for his final deep space mission. I was terrified that he would return and destroy my work…perhaps even kill me. I reported his crimes and I was assured by Starfleet Security that they would be thoroughly investigated. According to the crew manifest just before the _Stargazer_ was trapped, my father was no longer on board."

Obi sat down on a chair outside of her cell. "_What?"_

She nodded. "The bastard simply disappeared. If anyone deserved to be tortured by the Malkatans…and yet he disappeared before Picard's crew was captured. Why?" She looked up at him again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

**2355 Maxia**

After Zev watched Captain Picard fall to the deck unconscious, the sight of that brought her back to reality and her blinding joy at seeing Beverly ebbed. She gripped the phaser at her side and stared at the newcomers. The two Ferengi clearly did not want to be there, but Beverly and the strange bearded man looked genuinely concerned for the Captain's welfare. Certainly, Zev told herself, the real Beverly Crusher was good friends with Captain Picard, who had been best friends with former Second Officer Jack Crusher of course.

Still, they wore odd uniforms, and remarkably Beverly looked a few years older than when she had last seen the young doctor and her son just months ago on Earth before shipping out. But as Zev knew well from personal experience, stress could prematurely age a person. And Beverly Crusher had undergone a great deal of stress in her life, much of it within the previous year. Zev's heart wanted to believe that this was the same Beverly she had known for years, but her mind was jumbled by fatigue and suspicion. As she regarded Beverly she noticed something else not well hidden beneath the woman's coat. No...it was highly unlikely, and yet...was Beverly pregnant?

In silent response to Zev's questioning stare, Beverly pulled her jacket over herself and stepped hesitantly toward Zev.

"Zev," Beverly ventured quietly, seeing the uncertainty on the Andorian's normally confident features. "Zev it's me, Beverly." She could see that Zev had been tortured, just as Jean-Luc had been, and one of her antennae had even been cut off. She could not imagine the pain and humiliation her friends had endured, and yet they were still here, still functioning.

Only vaguely at that point did she wonder where the rest of the Stargazer bridge crew was. But since she had just seen Jean-Luc collapse, everything else was secondary in her mind.

"Beverly," Zev said slowly, still sounding very confused.

Beverly said, "I have to get to him," and attempted to walk around Zev slowly.

Zev raised her phaser. She didn't point it directly at Beverly, but she obviously had no intention of dropping it either. "I'm sorry…but I can't let you approach any closer to the Captain until you tell me who you really are. Beverly Crusher is stationed on Earth. There is no reason she would be out here. And your uniforms are not standard issue."

Beverly looked at Riker who looked ambivalent about saying anything, and then she turned back at Zev. "Is he alright?" she asked nodding toward Picard, who lay face down on the floor. "I can see that he's bleeding," she said keeping her voice calm. "You have to let me help him."

Zev kept the phaser trained on Beverly. "His neck wound is not as bad as it looks," she said. "I believe that he…he was overcome with emotion at seeing you, and that is why he collapsed."

"We don't want to hurt you," Riker said, still holding his phaser behind Brom and Kad. "We're just glad to see that you're alive." He looked around the empty bridge. "Where's everyone else?"

"Tell me who you are first," Zev demanded, glancing at Beverly again. "The Captain swore he saw you down on the Malkatan base. But we didn't believe him. Now you're back…if it's really you. No more lies," Zev said quietly.

Beverly nodded. "Okay. No more lies."

* * *

"We're from the future," Beverly began, and did her best to give a summary of what they had been through, why she had arrived on the Malkatan base, and why they were now back.

Zev finally holstered her phaser after glancing accusingly at Bok and Kad. Then she turned back to Beverly. "You saved us. We never would have escaped the Malkatan base without you," she said.

Beverly nodded and moved toward Jean-Luc who was starting to stir. Riker did the same, but stopped, remembering he was attached to Kad. Undoing one side of the handcuffs he put the other end on the railing in front of tactical.

"Your father eats scree larva!" Kad hissed at him.

Riker shrugged. "I wouldn't doubt it…but then he and I aren't that close."

He moved around Brom, who was starting to look very tired of having been held hostage. On the floor, Bok was slowly waking up and shaking his large cranium back and forth.

Commander Zev waved Riker over to her. "Step away from those Ferengi. We don't have time for them right now," she said before firing three stun beams quickly at all three, knocking them out instantly.

_She does not mess around_. Riker turned to Zev with raised eyebrows and held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Will Riker." She shook his hand quickly and they moved to crouch down at Beverly's side.

"You're right, he just fainted," she said, still gripping his wrist, and not wanting to let go. "His pulse is strong." She ran her fingers over his neck which was bruised and had been slashed with a sharp weapon. "Who did this to him?" She looked up at Zev.

Zev looked away. "Vigo lost his mind down on that planet. When the Captain refused to destroy the Ferengi ship you were on he attacked without warning. I incapacitated him but not before he nearly strangled and cut the Captain."

Riker stared down at Picard, whose eyes were beginning to flutter. His hair was a sandy brown shade and short, but…it was there. Riker sat back on his haunches still looking at the Captain. He looked a little more dangerous than the Picard he was familiar with. He glanced at Beverly and wondered for the first time how she had decided to deal with the pregnancy issue. It was now hard to conceal.

Picard suddenly sat up and glanced around him. "Where's Bok?" he demanded, seeing Zev first.

"Still down for the count," Riker said with a grin. His smile faded as Picard looked at him sharply. Suddenly he looked so familiar again.

"Do I know you?"

Riker paused. "No…not yet at least," was all he could think of to say.

But Picard was now staring at Beverly. She held out her hand trying to steady him as he stood to his feet, and backed away from her slowly. He ran a hand over his eyes, and seemed to be testing if the newcomers would still be there when he removed his hand. "I've seen so many things recently. And…I am losing my concept of what is real and what is not," he admitted.

"Captain, Beverly and Riker are from the future. They're here to correct the timeline that the Ferengi helped to damage—"

"No!" he shouted. "I want to hear it from her," he pointed at Beverly and his lips were trembling. "I deserve it." He suddenly tugged at his tattered uniform and cleared his throat in an attempt to compose himself. "I want to talk with Beverly alone."

* * *

**2367 Four Months Ago on Board the Enterprise…**

After Geordi stopped trying to reason with the Captain to halt his plans to eject the warp core, the engineer left engineering to try and get help. Picard returned to what he had been doing; he knew what he was doing-he was trying to create a disruption in a powerful warp field that had shown itself to him outside the ship; the warp field that one no one else had seen. The one that threatened to ensnare his ship.

All he knew was that if he didn't act quickly, his ship would be trapped…or destroyed. He couldn't take the chance to find out which of these would be their fate. He resumed inputting the seven security levels needed to accomplish his task when he heard a popping sound behind him. He turned to find that he was not alone.

It was very tall, grey and slender with sinewy muscles and wore no apparent clothing. "Where is the key?" When it spoke, its voice was so deep he hardly registered the words that emanated from its wide toothless mouth.

Picard reached for a phaser, but the alien grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground effortlessly. He rolled back up to try and strike at it, but it bent down and clutched at his clothing grabbing his collar in a vice grip. The alien lifted him up by his uniform collar and shook him as if trying to rid him of loose change.

Picard struggled in midair. "Who are you?"

"I am the Jailor," responded the booming voice. "_Where_ is the key? You must use it now!"

_The key, the key, the key…._

* * *

**2367 Four months later in Earth Orbit**

Someone continued to tug at his shirt collar. "Jean Luc...Jean Luc, wake up!"

He tried to roll away. He was trying to figure out where the key was, and if this person didn't let him finish his dream, he would never figure it out.

"Jean Luc," the now familiar voice insisted. "Wake up! That awful man is demanding to speak with you again."

Had it been a dream, or a memory? Whatever it was, it was new to him. He shook his head, and sat up from where he had been dozing on the floor of the ready room, gently pushing Mary away from him.

That "awful man" she referred to was the same person she had recently nursed back to health, while accusing Picard of lacking compassion. Apparently she had decided Captain Jellico was possibly even more of a difficult personality than Picard was, and now was very much anti-Jellico.

He rubbed his eyes. Just before falling asleep he had finished arguing with Jellico and Worf. The consensus was that whatever the Malkatans had done on the Enterprise with Jellico, had most likely been done on the other eight ships in orbit with the commanding officers. Jellico had suggested he had been kept behind for his "unparalleled knowledge about the Enterprise" and to keep the Malkatans informed of the ship's general status. The implication was that the commanding officers of the other eight ships had met the same fate, and that perhaps if they were also disconnected from the energy of the miniature singularity device, all of the ships could be freed and brought back under their control.

The ready room door hissed open and Jellico stood their staring with his unflinching gaze. "I'm ready to disembark. I'll take Worf over to the _USS Corsair_ with me, take care of any stray Malkatans, and then we will free Captain Martens…if she's still alive that is. Once we're in the clear Worf and I can beam back over and we'll take the _Enterprise_, as you suggest…to attack the Malkatans."

Picard didn't bother to get up from his seat on the floor, and merely nodded his head as he leaned back against the wall. Jellico still refused to refer to Picard by his rank, much less his name, and apparently did not believe that he was the real Jean-Luc Picard, who according to Jellico (and the Enterprise computer) had disappeared twelve years ago. But this didn't stop Jellico from listening to Picard or agreeing with his plans to attack the Malkatans' temporary base on Earth.

"Surely you aren't asking for my permission, Captain," Picard said with a slight smile.

"Of course not," Jellico snapped. "Let's not forget who's in command of this vessel."

Picard finally pushed himself to his feet. "Oh…I haven't forgotten," he answered with the same small smile. He and Mary watched as Jellico stepped back through the doors, leaving them alone.

Mary looked up at Picard. "Oh, I hate his guts," she said.

"Agreed," said Picard.

* * *

**Approximately 45 minutes later…**

"_Captain Jellico to the bridge," _came Jellico's voice through the communications link.

"Bridge here," Picard answered curtly.

"_Captain Martens is alive and well, and the ship is now under our control. We should be able to repeat the same process on the other ships now."_

"Excellent. Any Malkatans present?" Picard asked. He tapped at the tactical console. The energy field linking the Enterprise with the Corsair was now gone. He smiled to himself. The ship was now free. His smile faded when he remembered his conversation with Troi a few hours ago. But he shoved it away from his thoughts. He couldn't dwell on the negative right now. Beverly had traveled into the past to try and save him in the present. He could not fault her. He should have been grateful, and yet he was jealous of his past self and confused by the entire situation. He could not deny it any longer. His only hope was that she would be safe so that he would be able to reunite with her in twenty hours or so. He wondered silently if she would willingly leave the past Picard this time. Again he tried to stop the infuriating thoughts from fogging his mind.

"_No Malkatans,"_ Jellico confirmed, bringing Picard back to the present. _"In fact, Worf and I are ready to beam back over. Captain Martens assures me that she can handle it from here."_

Picard frowned. Of course Jellico was practically incapacitated for more than a day after he was released from the energy beam, and yet he expected poor Captain Martens to be up and running in just a few minutes. He glanced over at Mary who was rolling her eyes each time she heard Jellico's voice. It was dramatic, but mirrored his feelings very accurately.

"_Did you hear me bridge? Beam us back over."_

"Acknowledged," Picard said. "Initiating direct bridge to bridge transport." His hands moved over the controls again, and within seconds they heard the familiar hum of the transporter beam.

When Worf materialized alone in the center of the bridge, he glanced up at Picard who stood at tactical. "Orders, sir?"

"Take the helm," said Picard. "And get us out of transporter range as quickly as possible."

"Aye sir."

"_Jellico to Enterprise! What the hell do you think you're doing, Picard?"_

"Shields up…" Picard said almost casually, as he made it so with the controls. "I appreciate that you've finally done me the honor of using my name, Captain, but I am afraid I don't have time to argue every little point with you—"

"_You're stealing my ship, Picard! This is a court martial, do you understand, you son of a bitch?"_

"I can't very well steal what is already mine," Picard pointed out, as Worf moved the ship quickly away.

Mary began applauding loudly and very deliberately, which he admitted was highly inappropriate, but he allowed. It was also then that Picard noticed Spot had returned and was sitting in the command chair. He shrugged, figuring he might as well allow feline transgressions as well, given that it was such a special occasion.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

Picard felt his whole body grow tense after he shouted that he wanted to speak to Beverly Crusher alone. He was terribly embarrassed by his recent behavior where Beverly was concerned. First he had fainted at seeing her, and then he had made an emotional outburst. But he couldn't help it. She was here in front of him.

Beverly's eyes went wide, and she looked suddenly frozen in place. It wasn't like her to be intimidated by any situation, but perhaps the stress of recent events was now wearing on her.

Feeling increasingly protective of his friend, Riker looked at Beverly, then Picard, and then back at Beverly. Well, this was awkward. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" he asked her gently, touching her on her arm.

Offended by Riker's attempts to protect Beverly from him, Picard stepped toward him authoritatively. "Who is this man?" he demanded, glaring up at Riker, but apparently asking someone else. For Riker it was beginning to look like Farpoint all over again, and he really could do without a repeat.

Riker raised his eyebrows and stuck out his hand congenially. "Commander—I mean, _Captain_ William T. Riker, sir," he said offering his most winning smile. Picard looked down at Riker's outstretched hand and then back at Will's face with a creased brow.

"Well…which is it? Are you a Commander or a Captain?" he questioned Riker impatiently.

"Well, until recently I was First Officer on the Enterprise, sir—but—"

Picard turned away from him abruptly, as though Riker had taken too long to answer him. "Zev, what the hell are all of these Ferengi doing on my bridge?" Picard demanded.

Riker straightened and his eyes drifted up toward the ceiling. _Dismissed._

Zev gestured at Riker and Beverly. "They brought them, Captain. The Ferengi with all the jewels on his coat is Brom-Bok's son, and the spindly one is—"

"Oh, I know who_ Kad_ is," Picard reassured her. "But I hardly expected to see the little weasel alive again," he snapped. "I saw him get shot in the face down on Malkata, after all. So…_why_ is he here?"

Riker turned to look at the Captain and opened his mouth to respond, but then reached up to scratch his beard, searching for an appropriate response. "I could explain Captain...but you just said you wanted to be alone with Doctor Crusher. So maybe one explanation at a time," he suggested and smiled again in as friendly a way as possible. However, the Captain was not reciprocating.

Picard studied Riker's face. The man looked trustworthy enough, despite wearing a strange uniform and having appeared from out of nowhere on his bridge. And there was an apparent sense of recognition and affection in the tall man's eyes that he could not share of course, but he knew would somehow be comforting if he allowed it to be so.

Besides, Riker was with Beverly, and seemed protective of her, which was positive. His eyes narrowed. Just how well did Riker know Beverly? He forced his jealousy back into the recesses of his brain. The lingering effect of the Singularity Net continued to make it seem as though he was thinking through a thick fog at times. He blinked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his gaze for Beverly's sake. He didn't want to frighten her. He nodded slowly and looked over at Beverly. He pointed toward the tiny conference adjacent to the bridge. "We could step in there, if you would…."

Beverly nodded and then glanced at Riker, giving him a reassuring smile as she walked ahead of the Captain.

* * *

Zev turned to Riker sharply once they were gone. "Is she pregnant with his child?"

Riker glanced after Beverly quickly and then back down at Zev. "Um…." he hadn't anticipated having to answer such a question. He wasn't even sure he had permission to answer it. So he just cleared his throat and looked at Zev. Her antenna pointed in his direction. He scratched the back of his neck. "Um…this isn't really my area of—"

"Riker…is she going to tell him?"

The ridiculousness of the whole situation finally hit Will and he almost laughed. "Do you actually think he won't notice? I mean…even I would notice-if I didn't already know, that is."

Zev folded her arms over her chest. "How long have you known Captain Picard?"

Riker looked at her. "About four years. Why?"

"Then you have known him long enough to know that he is entirely capable of not noticing that a woman is pregnant…even a woman that he loves. He is well practiced at sublimating his emotions to the point of extreme self-denial."

Riker looked down at his hands. "Good point," he murmured with a small shrug.

* * *

"So now you have me alone," Beverly said quietly once they were inside the small conference room.

Jean-Luc paced back and forth, keeping his distance from her. Her eyes followed him with some trepidation. Then he stopped abruptly. "Yes...just as you had me alone, not too long ago," he said.

It was true. Did he feel she had taken advantage of him down on the Malkatan base? "Are you angry with me, Jean-Luc?"

"It's not so simple. I am confused...just months ago before leaving Earth, I called you and you told me weren't even sure you wanted to have lunch with me upon my return from the mission."

Beverly was somewhat surprised to hear him say this. She remembered having that conversation with him years ago. But for him it was much more recent a memory.

"And then down on that base I had these fantasies constantly...about you."

She blushed and looked away from him, as he continued.

"I almost believed those visions to be real until you came to me that day. You said things to me I never dreamed you would. You made promises about how we would be together. Was it real, Beverly? Please say that it was real."

Beverly tried to swallow away the lump in her throat. "Yes, Jean-Luc, it was real."

"But…how am I supposed to reconcile all of that...everything, with the fact that you and I have been so distant from each other following Jacks death?"

"I can explain," she said. "Not all of it will make sense, but I'm going to try."

Picard watched Beverly as she stared at him and pulled her coat tighter around her as though she were cold. But it was hotter than blazes in that room. He stepped toward her, feeling drawn by the power of just being near to her again. But Beverly moved to stand so that she was shielded by a chair near the conference table. He was unable to hide the quick expression of hurt and confusion that crossed his features.

"Beverly, I would never hurt you," he said, studying her face from across the room.

"Of course not. I know that," she said softly, tracing her hand across the top of the chair as she watched him.

"Well…you needn't hide from me then," he insisted.

"I'm not hiding," she said. "Jean-Luc… a lot has changed between us in the twelve years between now and the future where I just came from." She paused as he watched her expectantly.

"We're friends now in the future...great friends," she assured him.

He smiled, very happy to hear it. He nodded. "Good...I'm glad." His smile faltered a little and he took a step toward her. "Where are we in the future? What are we doing?"

"We're serving together on board the flagship of the fleet. You are Captain of the _Enterprise_." His smile returned. The _Enterprise_...James Kirk's famed ship. Suddenly hundreds of questions flooded his mind.

"How is Wesley? Is he at the Academy?"

Beverly laughed and felt tears come to her eyes. "He's wonderful…yes he entered the Academy," she said.

Picard broke into a wide smile. "Jack would be so proud," he said, and then looked immediately apologetic.

"It's okay," she reassured him. "You can say Jack's name. You're right…he would be proud."

She couldn't bear to tell him that Wesley was at the Academy mainly because the _Enterprise_ too had been lost, and he really hadn't known what else to do.

"And the _Stargazer_?"

"I'm sorry, Jean-Luc but the _Stargazer _was lost. It was during what is now known as the Battle of Maxia...in our timeline just before now, you destroyed Brom's ship."

He leaned on the table, trying to take it all in. His ship had been lost. He was always complaining that his ship was falling apart, and he had always sort of expected it to sputter out of energy, instead of being lost in battle. "What about my crew?" he asked distantly.

"Most of your crew escaped. There was a fire in engineering, which you were able to extinguish in order to prevent the ship from complete destruction...but there were lives lost. I'm sorry," she said again.

He sat down heavily, weighed down by the guilt of something that had never even happened to him. And yet, what _had _happened was even worse. The horrible reality of the Malkatans crept back into his brain. He had his damn ship, but his crew was dead. He realized he wasn't ready to tell Beverly. Would she be ashamed of him? That he had been unable to prevent what happened to the crew?

"Well, all of this explains Bok's vendetta against me," he said. "And he arranged for the Malkatans to capture us…." He nodded slowly coming to understand. Of course, General Unh had told him as much down on that planet. He smiled grimly and then stood up, looking at her from across the table. "At least in the future you and I will have a chance to serve together," he said with more strength.

She smiled at him sadly. "At least...we were serving together until things went so wrong." She tried her best to explain the rest as calmly as possible. Meanwhile all she could think of was the fact that she would not be able to hide her pregnancy from him, and she couldn't believe that she had ever considered it. As she continued to tell him about the changed timeline, she could see the dominant practical side of him come and go. He understood everything she was talking about, but he was distracted by the same emotions she was.

"So why did you come back? And what are you still keeping from me?" He circled, coming closer to her. With each step she seemed to withdraw from him.

"I told you, Jean-Luc. I returned because I knew that Bok was going to try to murder you."

"So were you trying to save me, or the Picard of the future?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!"

"Well, Jean-Luc, of course I was trying to save you _both_. I believed that if I saved you, the future version of you would also survive. To me you are both the same person."

"But you have to leave me again and travel into the future to make sure that you've succeeded. Well what if I don't want you to leave me again?"

"Jean-Luc…."

Some painful emotion made his chest grow tight as he walked toward her. "We're friends in the future you've said. But here? What are we to each other, Beverly?" She didn't answer so he walked closer until they were within arms-length. "You told me that what happened between us was real. So why don't you trust me?" He reached out to touch her cheek.

Her face flushed again as she regarded him silently. She caught his hand against her face and held it. "It's not that simple, Jean-Luc. I don't want to hurt you."

He shook his head and moved closer. "You couldn't do that." He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away. Without breaking eye contact she took his hand from her cheek and brought it down to her belly. His eyes dropped down and then back up into her eyes with sudden unease.

"What…"

She nodded. "Yes. Now do you see why I have been hiding behind chairs and tables?" she asked him softly.

"But, how…." He was completely mystified, but to her surprise hadn't removed his hand from her stomach. He looked back down. "We were only together that one-"

"It was more than once," she corrected him gently. "And it doesn't always take much. Trust me…I'm a doctor," she added with a small smile.

He looked at her with a completely serious expression. "Has the time-shifting accelerated it—the baby's growth?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He moved his hand over her stomach and then put his head against the side of her neck. "You can't leave. Not now that I know."

She pulled back slightly to look at him, and gently smoothed his hair. "Jean-Luc, I feel the same way about leaving you, but…I don't belong here. There's another version of me back on Earth right now."

His brow furrowed. "That version of you who hates me?"

She shut her eyes. "I never hated you. And I'm starting to think that there was never a time when I didn't love you."

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading and reviewing this story. And happy belated Earth Day...**. **-PP**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

* * *

Geordi straightened his cramped lower back and stood up, surprised to see a visitor in this part of engineering. For the most part the crew of the _Aldrin_ had left him, Data and Wesley alone to complete the repairs and modifications to CASU. Although absent and still locked away in the detention block, Dr. Mayer had been surprisingly cooperative and even helpful with CASU's restoration, passing information through Commander Obi. It seemed like Mayer and Obi had some kind of tortured romance brewing, but for Geordi's part he really didn't care as long as they got this thing up and running.

He tossed his hyper spanner to the side, as a crouching Data and Wesley looked up. "Hi Counselor," Geordi greeted Deanna Troi as she strolled gracefully toward them. He wiped some grease off of his forehead and smiled. "To what do we owe this visit?"

She looked pale and anxious—never a good sign for her as that meant someone, somewhere was probably experiencing some kind of horrible mental anguish. Geordi was pretty sure that for the moment it wasn't him.

Deanna, despite her anxiety seemed quite composed. "Hello. Actually I was hoping to speak with Wesley."

Wesley Crusher came out of his crouching position to face her, smoothing out his engineering coveralls. "Hi, Counselor. What's going on?"

Troi squeezed her hands together and nodded. "Let's find somewhere quiet to sit, shall we?"

"There's a conference room over there," Geordi said, pointing across the engineering bay.

He watched as Troi and Wesley walked away, and then turned to Data. "What do you think is going on now?" he asked.

"Although there are many possible scenarios for what is currently happening, Geordi, I have learned that in this type of situation, it is more appropriate to simply tell you that 'I have no idea,'" said Data, handing Geordi back his hyper spanner.

"Right," said LaForge.

* * *

"Wesley, I can't help but tell that we are both thinking along similar lines," said Troi. "And it concerns me, because I believe we both may be correct.

Wesley sat down slowly across from her at the table. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Wesley several hours ago after your mother and Commander Riker left for 2355—again, I spoke with Captain Picard, who as you know is still on Earth. I know you have been thinking of him, so I thought I would let you know my concerns."

Wesley sat up straighter. "Does he know about Mom?"

Deanna looked at him gravely. "He does know that Beverly has traveled into the past again, and frankly he is quite upset about it."

"Well can we still reach him? Maybe if I tried to talk to him…." Wesley trailed off and then shrugged.

"I called him a few hours ago just to follow up, unfortunately he didn't answer. Wesley, I believe he is deliberately closing himself off."

"Why?"

"He's planning to try and do something extreme," said Troi. "I believe that he is convinced that he is going to disappear again—to die. And so, he is determined to make an impact before he does."

Wesley slumped in his chair. "The Traveler's been missing for days now. I need his help," he said sounding defeated.

"Why are you putting this all on yourself?" Deanna asked.

"Well…when this whole thing started—at least when the Traveler first came to visit me at the Academy after the Captain's disappearance, he said I would need to learn to trust my instincts. And each time I've encountered him since then he's been less and less helpful, telling me I have to figure this out. And then last night…well I had a dream I was playing chess with the Captain. And he told me to always trust myself. So I think I have to be the one to figure this out, but so far I haven't come close to doing that."

Deanna leaned forward and put her hand over his. Wesley blushed a little bit. He'd always had kind of a crush on Counselor Troi. Not that he was about to admit it to her—ever. She smiled at him again. "Wesley, it's not that I don't have faith in your ability to solve this problem, but it's quite complicated. I agree we need to work together, but—"

"Counselor," Wesley said quickly. "Is it possible that you're sensing the Captain's intent, but it's a Captain Picard from another timeline?"

Deanna looked at Wesley with a frown that gradually softened into some form of understanding. "I'm not certain that I would know the difference," she admitted. "Captain Picard is Captain Picard. And if the timelines are connecting somehow, I suppose it's possible that I could be sensing Captain Picard from a different time continuum."

"Well they _are_ interconnected," said Wesley. "Because the Captain Picard who reappeared on Earth with Worf knows all about Bok and the Malkatans and everything else. He even knows why and how he disappeared, because Worf, my mom, you…everyone has explained it to him. And the Captain Picard in the past met Mom on the Malkatan base, was exposed to our technology, and had to use the neutralizer to escape from the Singularity Net," he said talking very quickly now. "So, the only Captain Picard who doesn't understand the problem with the timeline is _our_ Captain Picard. The one who destroyed the _Enterprise_. He must have done it because he saw something—he was trying to save us."

Deanna felt tears filling her eyes. "Of course he was."

"And so now he needs our help. We have to help him to save the _Enterprise_."

Troi shook her head. "But Wesley, it won't be enough will it, if the thing that he saw that day was indeed the Singularity Net. We have to stop him from seeing it in the first place. But…how do we do that?"

Wesley bit his thumb. "I don't know. I don't think it's that easy. There's more than one thing going on here. But I think that the Captain is still the key to figuring this out." He looked at her again and this time smiled. "You're right, we have to work together, Deanna."

* * *

He kissed her and this time she didn't move away. He had needed her for so long, and now she was back. But it couldn't last could it? No, he understood all too well, now. But the closeness of her body didn't make it any easier, and couldn't make all of him understand. He held her to him and she returned his kiss, wrapping her hands around the back of his neck. But before long she pulled away and then ran her hand gently over his bruised throat. She lightly touched the nasty cut on his neck that was now drying.

"What really happened between you and Vigo?" she whispered. Something flashed in his eyes then and he backed away. She could tell that he didn't want to tell her the truth, and he didn't want to lie either. So knowing him, she knew he would say nothing. She reached for his hand, wishing again for the closeness they had just shared, but he sat down on the edge of the conference table and stared silently down at his leg dangling above the floor.

"Don't hide from me," she said, walking toward him.

"Or what?" he said quietly and his face was impassive when he looked up at her. "You'll leave?"

"I told you I—"

"You don't belong here!" he suddenly shouted, getting to his feet and gesturing wildly in the air in front of him. "Don't you think I understand that, Beverly? But don't you see, _I_ don't even want to exist in this world anymore either. I don't want to remember what they did to me…what they did to _my _crew!"

She shook her head and sat down at the table staring up at him. All of this had happened to him because of a senseless vendetta, and she could do nothing to help him. He had to live with this now. What good had all of her time traveling and attempts to save him done? Would her counterpart on 2355 Earth understand him? Would she reach out to him? "Jean-Luc," she said quietly, trying to reason with him. "When you and the others return to Earth, there _will_ be a time for healing, I know there will—"

"No," he said coldly, placing his palms on the table and staring down at her. "There _are_ no others."

She blinked. "What?"

"They're all dead," he said flatly. She sat in stunned silence, as he walked away from the table, and then they both turned as the doors hissed open and Riker and Zev stepped inside the room.

"Is everything alright, Beverly?" Zev said, looking from her to Picard and back with concern.

Beverly simply nodded silently, still in shock.

Riker stepped forward. "We need to talk," he said to Beverly pointedly.

Picard folded his arms over his chest and walked slowly toward Riker. "What about?" he asked, stopping just in front of him.

Riker held his ground. "Zev says you fused the neutralizer with the force field controls," he said.

Picard nodded. "That's correct. Why?" He glanced back at Beverly. "Is that why you came back? For the device you gave me down on the base."

"You know why I came back, Jean-Luc, because I already told you," she said. "I came back for you."

"But…Captain, we did want to retrieve the neutralizer from you," Riker said slowly. "We think we can use it. Against the weapons of the Malkatans."

Picard sat down at the table across from Beverly. "I'm listening," he said, gesturing for Riker to sit down.

"Then I'll go and keep my eyes on the Ferengi," said Zev, walking out of the room.

* * *

_"Wesley…."_

Wesley sat up in bed, seeing the Traveler's disembodied head floating over him. He should have been surprised, but instead he only felt anger. "Where the hell have you been?" Wesley shouted jumping out of bed.

The Traveler's face shimmered, and his skin looked ever greyer than usual. _"He won't let me go,"_ the Traveler said slowly. He looked as though he were drugged. _"He won't let me free until he has it…and my time is running out, Wesley._"

Wesley ran a frenzied hand through his tousled hair. "What? Who are you talking about?"

"_The Jailor…."_

"The who? Who is the Jailor?"

The Traveler, or his image began to choke. "_It was not only Bok…it was not-find the other one and stop him, Wesley—"_

Suddenly the Traveler's image blinked away and Wesley was alone. Wesley reached out and swiped at the area above his bed uselessly, before falling to the floor in frustration_. Stop him…_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

* * *

**2355 Outside the Maxia Sector**

"As you know Admiral, we were just about to enter the Maxia system to map the sector," said Picard. "This is highly troubling."

Admiral Chen's serious expression filled the private view screen.

"Captain, I know this is unusual, but we can't have a suspected murderer on board a starship."

"Understood sir, but my crew is hardly equipped to hunt down an accused perpetrator. Our security personnel are limited."

"You have a brig don't you?" Chen was unsympathetic to Picard's plight.

Picard crossed his arms over his chest. "Of course, sir. And shall we carry on with mapping the system, or simply bring Lieutenant Mayer to the nearest Starbase?"

Chen shook his head. "That decision hasn't been made, Captain. Get the man into custody first. Chen out."

Picard sat back in his chair. _Dammit. _Mayer was a loose cannon. The Chief Engineer had been warning him about Mayer's odd behavior for months now. Picard had ordered the man to take anger management courses and to see a counselor before getting cleared for duty three months ago. But he'd really had no idea. According to new evidence uncovered by Starfleet Security, the "accident" which had purportedly killed Lt. Mayer's wife and teenage son several years ago was now a probable double-homicide. And Mayer it seemed was the prime suspect. These revelations had apparently come about because Mayer's 20 year old daughter had reported that he had physically and psychologically abused her for years, particularly following the death of her mother and older brother. She had no idea, according to Security, that he was possibly responsible for their deaths along with his violence against her, but the investigation into the daughter's allegations had uncovered additional secrets of Mayer's violent past. It was all very tragic. Picard was sickened to know that such person could be on his ship. While he certainly believed in due process, he simply couldn't allow the risk of someone like this harming anyone else on board his ship. He reached out to touch the communications link. "Lt. Vigo, please report to my ready room and prepare an armed security team."

* * *

**2367 The Aldrin**

Commander Obi glanced around the table surveying the faces of the remaining officers from the _Enterprise_. At his side sat Dr. Johanna Mayer, whose usual arrogance had been replaced by a clearly anxious demeanor.

"Thank you for coming," Obi said, looking around at those assembled. "I've called us together for two reasons. I have already briefed my own crew on the first part of what I'm about to tell you and that is that the situation with the Malkatans has worsened to the point that we have less than twenty known active ships, equipped to battle the enemy. In addition, the casualties we experienced on Earth were far greater than originally believed."

"How bad?" Geordi asked.

"Over sixty million have been reported dead." Obi paused while the impact of that statement settled in.

Troi grasped Wesley's hand in hers and stared down at the table.  
Even Data appeared stunned.

"And these numbers don't account for those colonies we've lost and the off-world Starfleet personnel that were killed in battle," explained Obi. He tapped his fingers on the table top. "So, the _Aldrin_ has been ordered to the border of the Klingon Empire with six other ships to try and hold back what we think is their final advance."

Deanna looked at Obi pointedly. "But you've decided to disobey the order," she said softly. "Haven't you?"

He nodded, looking uncomfortable. "Call it a hunch…but I think we'll better serve the cause to stay here. Besides, I don't want to abandon Captain Riker as long as he has a chance of getting the other neutralizer," he said firmly.

"Then what's next?" Wesley asked.

Obi leaned forward. "The CASU device has been modified with the neutralizer we pieced together from the runabout's computer files—thanks to you, Data, and LaForge. And my plan is to launch it from here to meet up with the Fleet at the Klingon rendezvous point. CASU have the neutralizing effect on the Malkatan weapons that we hope it will, and that might give our blockade a fighting chance."

"Well, it's worth a try. We've come this far," LaForge said. "But…I'm a little hesitant to ask what the second reason is you called us here."

Obi smiled slightly but then glanced at Dr. Mayer.

She nodded. "There's something that has been bothering me."

_Aside from the fact that you shot at Will?_ Deanna thought.

"In our…modified timeline, the records show that my father disappeared from the _Stargazer_ before it was captured by the Malkatans."

Deanna inclined her head to look at Mayer. "I don't understand. Why would your father disappear?"

"My father was very abusive toward me—at one point he even threatened to kill me." She looked down at her hands. "My mother and brother had already been dead for several years, due to an accident. So…it was just my father and me. Anyway, according to the records and my ever-changing memory of events, I reported his abuse to the authorities after my father shipped out with the rest of the Stargazer crew on what would be its last mission. I was only nineteen at the time, and I was afraid he would return…but he never did. As much as I hated him, I felt guilty that he didn't return. When I made my report, I was told there would be an investigation, but of course, I never heard anything after that. The next thing I knew, the _Stargazer_ had disappeared."

"So…you think his disappearance had something to do with your report?" Deanna asked.

"I can't be sure," she admitted. "But, my father was extremely resourceful and a brilliant engineer. The more I have thought about it, the more I think he is still alive somewhere. And if he is, why hasn't he reappeared?"

Wesley suddenly spoke up. "The Traveler came to me last night. He told me that someone named the Jailor has imprisoned him and won't let the Traveler go until he has 'it'. What 'it' is, I don't know yet."

Data turned to Wesley. "Fascinating, Wesley. Would you mind stating why you chose to mention that just now?"

Wesley hesitated. _I'm trying to trust my instincts._ "He also said that Bok wasn't the only one."

"What?" Deanna gaped. "You mean to say that Bok had an accomplice?"

"We already know he had Kad…and Brom," said Geordi.

Wesley shook his head. "No. I think the Traveler meant that Bok was not the only one responsible for the changes he made to the timeline. And I'm starting to wonder if there is even a way to pinpoint just when things changed. I mean what if the timeline changed before Bok became involved? It's like searching for a needle in a haystack…but the haystack's moving."

"And so is the needle," Deanna said. "The more things are changed, the more the origin of the change becomes murkier."

"It remains, however, that the one primary factor that resulted in both the capture of the _Stargazer_, and the advancement in the Malkatan's technology since that event, was the Singularity Net," Data offered.

"Based on what the Traveler told us, we know the Singularity Net was created by an ancient race," said Wesley. "And that after the Net's use was discontinued because of its dangerous properties, the Traveler set it loose accidentally, when he was traveling through space and time. But what we don't exactly know, is how Bok got hold of the Singularity Net. Maybe that's the key." _That's the key._ Wesley could almost hear Captain Picard's voice echoing back to him over the chess table.

"Up until this point we have been assuming that Bok obtained the Singularity Net perhaps by accident, and then proceeded to change the past," continued Wesley. "But what if the past was already changing when he found it?"

"Intriguing," said Data. "It is possible that the Singularity Net itself and its presence in this sector caused the timeline to begin changing even before Bok gained control of it."

"All I know," said Wesley slowly. "Is that we need to stop Bok from finding the Net."

* * *

**2355 The Stargazer**

"So in your opinion Mr. Riker, the neutralizer would weaken the weapons of the Malkatans."

Will nodded. "That's correct, Captain," he said, pleased that Picard seemed willing to listen.

"But surely a single neutralizer isn't going to be enough to stop their invasion of the Federation in the future," said Picard. _I should have killed General Unh down on that base when I had the chance_, he thought darkly.

Riker looked down at the table then back up at Picard. "Probably not…but I'm sure you'd agree that desperate times call for desperate measures," he said.

Picard pulled down the hem of his ragged, bloodied tunic and somehow managed to make it look dignified. "You needn't provide me with clichés to convince me, Mr. Riker. Of course, I am happy to give you back the neutralizer."

Riker stood up. "Thank you sir. I'll get to work right away."

Picard glanced at Beverly. He wanted to say goodbye to her. And yet he didn't. "Have Zev help you to remove the neutralizer," he said to Riker with a nod.

Riker turned to leave but at that moment, Zev poked her head inside of the room. "The Ferengi have a proposition for us. Should I let them come in, Captain?"

* * *

Picard looked at Zev for a moment with mild surprise, before nodding. "Yes."

Zev gestured for Bok, Kad, and Brom to walk in ahead of her. She held her phaser at the ready as she brought up the rear. She stood silently watching the Ferengi with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.

Bok walked deliberately away from Picard's icy stare, and sat down at the table as though at a routine business meeting. Kad and Brom sat down on either side of him. Riker slowly sat back down next to Picard and noted that Kad's position was a curious one, as it seemed he had betrayed both Brom and Bok at various points in both timelines; and yet he was still here. A true survivor, whether Riker respected his methods of survival or not.

"Well?" Picard barked. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"We would like to make a trade…we will provide you with information in exchange for our return to Brom's vessel," Bok said.

"After leaving me and my crew to die on an alien world and disrupting the space time continuum, you have the _nerve_ to try and bargain with me? The deal is, _you_ give us the information, and then _I_ decide whether it is worth the risk of allowing you to return to your goddamn ship."

Bok shifted in his seat and glanced at Kad. "Fine. But I will not speak in front of the woman."

Picard reached across the table and grabbed Bok by his collar with two hands, yanking him over the table. "Apologize to her," he snapped. "Or I will make sure that you do not have the capacity to speak to _anyone_ ever again," he assured Bok, holding fast to the Ferengi's collar.

"Jean-Luc," Beverly said, grabbing his arm in an attempt to restrain or calm him down, but he continued to stare into Bok's face, just inches from his own. He twisted the collar in one of his fists, and Bok's color deepened.

"Captain," Riker attempted to interject. When he had been with Zev on the bridge alone she had revealed the fate of the Stargazer crew. It was a hideous situation, and he couldn't imagine what Picard was thinking right now, but if the Ferengi had something actually helpful to tell them, it wouldn't do to kill Bok before he shared whatever he was itching to tell them.

"Father, just _apologize_ to the human!" Shouted Brom. "Can't you see that your meddling has imbalanced him?"

"My deepest apologies, Doctor Crusher," Bok finally croaked hoarsely.

Picard released Bok and shoved him across the table. Bok clutched at his neck, perhaps taking a few more dramatic moments than necessary to recover.

Finally he looked up at Picard, still rubbing his throat. "You may not believe me, Picard, but I have something to say to you. You are not the only one who was under the influence of the Singularity Net."

* * *

Picard's eyes narrowed at Bok, but he said nothing.

"In _our_ current year of 2367 I met a man who told me a story of revenge," Bok began. "A human scientist. And he hated you, almost as much as I do—or did. He had a device which he claimed he had 'found'. We had so much in common, it seemed, that I decided to tell him my own story of the death of my beloved son at your hands. The human was willing to rent it to me, if I could promise him that you and the rest of the _Stargazer_ would meet a horrible and tortured death. And in carrying out his revenge, I would exact my own against you, Picard, by changing the future so that the great Picard no longer mattered to anyone."

"You tried and failed at that," Beverly said coldly.

"I did not expect the Malkatans to have the intelligence or ability to keep the Singularity Net for themselves. And I did not anticipate that Kad would sell me out. That was my only failure, as far as I am concerned," Bok said.

"And why are you telling us all of this now?" Beverly demanded angrily.

"Because none of this—all that I have done in the name of revenge, is worth a future ruled by the Malkatans," Bok said.

"This man you…collaborated with," said Picard to Bok. "What was his name?" He leaned forward after glancing over at Zev, who had a horrified expression on her face.

Bok glanced at Kad who shrugged. "He never told us his name," said Kad. "But he was missing an ear, Picard. Does that jog your memory?"

Picard stood up quickly and backed away from the table. Zev approached him with the same intense look on her face.

Beverly and Will stood up, watching him expectantly.

"Mayer," said Picard. He shook his head in disbelief. "Lt. Mayer was one of our engineers up until two weeks before we were captured by the Malkatans. He was a brilliant scientist, but very troubled emotionally. We were ordered by Command to capture him and detain him for the authorities after an he became a suspect in the alleged murder of his wife and son."

"We trapped him in engineering," said Zev. "But he got away—he escaped in a shuttle. But not before Vigo and his security officers wounded him—shot his right ear off."

"That is him," hissed Bok. "Mayer is the human we met…."

"After he escaped, Starfleet ordered us to return to mapping this sector. They assured us they were sending out security vessels to apprehend him," said Picard, still looking stunned. "I—I still don't understand."

"So all of this is _your_ doing, Picard," Kad said loudly. "You never should have let that criminal escape!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Riker shouted back at him, advancing on Kad. "You made a deal with that maniac. If Bok hadn't been bent on getting revenge against the Captain, none of this would have happened!"

"He used the singularity device to influence us, to gain our trust," Bok protested. "I am sure of it!"

"None of this even matters!" Beverly shouted suddenly, quieting the rest of the room. "The only thing that matters is stopping Mayer from either _getting_ the Singularity device, or from _giving_ it to Bok once he's developed it. Somehow in 2355 he must have found the Singularity Net the Traveler cut loose. This means Mayer is still alive in 2367, or was when he met Bok months ago."

Riker threw up his hands. "We have no means of traveling in time aside from the Pillar of Time which is in 2367 on Bok's ship-"

"My ship now," corrected Kad.

Bok turned to him in angry surprise. "You _are_ the slimiest spawn of a gree worm, Kad. You are the one who made it possible for the Malkatans to steal the Singularity Net—and then you betray me more times than it is possible to count—before stealing my ship? What next?"

"Every single one of you little bastards is responsible for meddling with the future," said Zev raising her phaser again threateningly.

"Not me," said Brom indignantly. "All I did was live after all."

"But you were _supposed_ to die," Zev said with a cold smile. "And that can still be arranged."

Picard held up his hands. "Beverly is right. The only way to have a chance of fixing what Mayer and Bok conspired to create is for Beverly, Riker, Bok and Kad to return to the future where they belong. Once there, they must try and use whatever means they can to correct what has happened. Those of us who belong here in 2355 must remain here and do the best we can not to make things worse."

"And what about me?" Brom asked with outrage. "And am I just supposed to sit and wait for a change back to a timeline in which my crew and I are destroyed by Picard's ship here at Maxia?"

Everyone turned to look at him at once. Although no one answered Brom, the answer was obvious.

* * *

The three Ferengi returned to the bridge along with Zev and Riker who were attempting to remove the neutralizer from the Stargazer's systems for the journey back into the future. Once again Picard and Crusher were alone. They sat side by side in silence. Eventually, not knowing what else to do, Beverly opened her med kit and pulled out some supplies. She didn't look at him as she prepared a hypo spray.

He studied her curiously. "I apologize for my behavior toward Bok. Perhaps it will be easier for you to leave, now that you know how by changing the past, I have been changed as well. And not for the better."

"Jean-Luc…I can't even imagine what you're feeling right now after losing your crew in that way." She shook her head an blinked back tears. "Some of them were my friends too," she whispered, taking out a cloth to clean his neck.

"I know," he said looking down. "But I don't want to feel any of that. I only want to feel the good things, remembering the good things like being with you, Beverly."

She finally looked at him and gave him a faint smile. "Then let's leave it that way. We'll both remember the good things." She reached over and began to clean his neck off, and then treated the wound. He didn't move away, and sat there compliantly, looking at her face. When she was done, she sat back and smiled at him again. "So now what?"

He took her hand. "We say goodbye," he said simply. She reached out to embrace him and he hugged her tightly.

"I'm glad that you are going to have a baby." he said quietly. "And I hope that the man you know as Picard in the future understands the same way I do now. I hope that he will overcome his fears and be the one that you need."

"I'm going to tell the baby about you," said Beverly, still embracing him. "She'll want to learn about you, and I'm going to tell her just how courageous you are."

He pulled back to look at her. "The baby is a girl?" She nodded with an expression that reflected back both his happiness and sadness. He blinked back tears and buried his face in her shoulder. "I'm so very glad," he said softly, and reached up to stroke her hair. "But I wish that I could meet her, even though I see now that it wasn't meant to be."

Beverly stiffened in his arms and looked at him. "What do you mean? Jean-Luc, I need to know that you're not going to do something to risk yourself when I leave. Please just get the hell out of this sector and back to Earth."

"Don't worry," he said, still stroking her hair.

Picard's mind was racing. He had an idea, but there was no way he was going to tell her. If he did, she would never leave, and he recognized now that he was not supposed to be living in this time in this way. There was only one correct Picard... and it was not him. In order for the Picard of the future to survive-her Picard- he, the Picard of the past would need to make things right after she had departed-once and for all.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

* * *

**2367 In Orbit around Earth**

"One thousand survivors from San Francisco and the greater bay area are signaling their readiness to beam up, Captain," Worf reported.

"Very well," Picard said from the helm, turning around to look at Worf. "That's our limit for now." Silently he knew that following the attack on the Malkatan base in the South Pacific, they would need to pick up more survivors. It made no sense to him to pick up survivors beforehand, in case the Enterprise and the nine other ships were destroyed in the attack. He was concerned. The odds of finding Worf's son and his own family in France were slim. But he couldn't face it now. "Mr. Worf, go to cargo bay and see to the survivors. Organize any of the Starfleet Officers into groups consisting of engineers, scientists, technicians, security and command officers. As for the civilians I want them out of the way and under control."

"Yes sir."

"Civilians have a lot to offer, Jean-Luc," Mary said from the command chair where she was sitting with Spot.

Picard fixed her with an expression of barely contained irritation. "Are you speaking personally or for civilians in general?"

"I'm just _saying_ Jean-Luc, you shouldn't sell those people short. They have survived against the odds after all."

He smiled slightly. "Mary, if you would… please help Mr. Worf to organize the survivors, in the main cargo bay. Meanwhile I will begin to beam them up in groups."

"Okay," she agreed, getting up from the chair to follow Worf.

"And Mary…."

She turned back to look at him. "Yes son?"

"Take the cat with you."

* * *

"_Jellico to Enterprise,"_ came Jellico's reedy voice.

"Enterprise here," said Picard.

"_How's my ship doing, Picard?"_

"_My_ ship is fine, Captain Jellico," Picard reassured him.

"_You still stole my ship, Picard…or whoever you are. And if we ever get any kind of court martial system back, I'll see you prosecuted for it."_

"Thank you for the notice, Captain. I'll be certain to begin to mount a defense as soon as the Malkatans have been defeated."

"_Very funny. But I'm willing to work with you for now_. _All of the orbiting starships are free and we can get this underway, Picard_."

"Good. The Enterprise will take the lead then," Picard said simply. "Once we've disabled their defense perimeter using the Malkatan weapon, you can move in with the _Corsair_ and beam out the prisoners."

"_Affirmative. Once we have our manned ships back they won't have a chance,"_ Jellico said confidently.

"We shall see," Picard said quietly, settling back in his chair. He entered the transporter sequence and began to transport those waiting from the surface.

* * *

_**2355 The Stargazer**_

"I feel as though I'm going to see you soon," Beverly said tearfully. Jean-Luc paced away from her and stared out a view port. Presently he turned back to her.

"In a way you will, Beverly. Because it will still be me in the future. It is crucial that you do not worry too much about me. You have to take care of yourself and the baby. That's the hardest and most important task for either of us."

Beverly blew her nose, closing her med kit. "Jean-Luc, I know you're planning something. If you don't tell me, I'm going to ask Zev."

He shook his head. "There's nothing to tell," he said softly. He stared at her. "I never would have believed that we would ever be together."

"In this time and place, I never believed it either," she admitted.

"But you thought of it."

"Yes. All the time."

He shrugged. "So in the future, does he—have I told you how I really feel?"

She froze. "Not completely…but then there hasn't been time."

"No time?" He walked closer. "I had twelve years didn't I? I should have known I would still be a weak and frightened man."

She laughed. "You're not weak. In any place or time."

He laughed too. "Oh, when it comes to you I am. I always have been." He took a deep breath in. "But seeing you and your courage to come and save my life-twice, has given me the courage to tell you something important."

She swallowed as he closed the distance between them. She reached out to take his hand. "I love you, Beverly."

"Jean-Luc, I love you too."

"We've got the neutralizer free," Riker announced, stepping into the room. He halted awkwardly, but unfortunately they couldn't wait any longer. And he knew that they knew this fact as well as he did. "Doctor, I'm sorry, but we should be getting back now," he said.

She nodded and then slowly released Jean-Luc's hand and backed away. "I know."

Picard said nothing, but his gaze spoke volumes. He watched as they walked out of the room before calling after them. "I look forward to meeting you both again…in the future."

* * *

Picard walked out onto the bridge to find Zev and Brom standing in the command area. To his surprise, Vigo stood nearby wearing handcuffs. He looked dazed but not particularly dangerous. Beverly, Riker, Kad, and Bok had traveled back into the future, using the Pillar of Time, and he hadn't wanted to actually see them leave.

Picard gestured for Brom to approach him. Zev's eyes narrowed, but she stayed put. Picard leaned against the tactical station. "If the timeline is corrected, we both know what will happen," he said in a lowered voice.

Brom bared his sharp teeth. "I will be destroyed, as will my ship and crew."

Picard crossed his arms over his chest and looked down in contemplation. "Perhaps if we are able to retain anything of what we know now… we will both act differently."

"Are you suggesting that we manipulate the timeline again?"

"No. I'm just suggesting we have faith in both of our capacities to exercise common sense and restraint when our two ships come in contact again-or rather for the first time."

Brom scoffed. "I have no faith in myself to act wisely in the correct timeline, much less to remember what we're talking about now."

"If you are killed in the so-called Picard Maneuver, I promise you that should your family approach me for restitution or assistance in the future, I will be bound by contract to help them. I already executed and sent the necessary documents into the future with Beverly."

"No matter the cost of restitution?" Brom's eyes widened. "Are you a wealthy human?"

"No. But it doesn't matter, I'll find whatever latinum they demand and provide it. A promise is a promise."

"Why are you offering this?"

"I'm not sure…but just because the events in the other timeline have to occur I'm not convinced that those events have the best to offer all of us. You are to die, for instance. And it's in this alternate time after all, that I fathered a child with the woman I love. How can that be wrong? Despite all of the bad things that have happened, that one thing has made me so happy, Brom."

"And what else?"

"And I need a favor from you." Picard glanced over at Zev and Vigo and then lowered his voice again. "I need you to bring Zev and Vigo to the nearest star base. It is imperative that they reach Starfleet safely. I have every faith that Zev will kill any number of your crew, should you turn on them. But I expect you to give them safe passage on board your ship."

Brom tilted his head. "Why don't you bring them yourself?"

Picard closed his eyes briefly. "My ship won't be available. You see, I'm going to crash the _Stargazer_ into the Malkatan base."


End file.
